Don't be an "expert" vomiter

Imitating what others do is one of the best ways to learn.

The problem arises when the objective is only to imitate the shallowness of a method. Or worse, when the goal is to reproduce the shallowness without putting anything into practice.

The “experts” who didn’t get in the water

When I participated in Sascha Fast’s Zettelkasten 101 workshop¹, Sascha used an anecdote that explains this situation perfectly.

In the fitness world, cold adaptation exercises became fashionable, specifically cold water baths (those with blocks of ice in the water). On the Internet, it was common to find self-proclaimed “experts” explaining—or rather, vomiting—the techniques and benefits of this type of bath. Sascha, who did practice cold adaptation, told us that it was evident for him to know when one of these “experts” had not even put a toe in the water.

The existence of these “experts,” in my opinion, is not a problem. Ultimately, it is up to the consumer to choose who they do or do not trust. What worries me is the possibility of becoming one of those “experts” myself.

Try things thoroughly

The Shuhari is a mental model that explains the path of learning until you reach mastery in a discipline. The first step is imitation (shu), where you imitate the steps others perform in that discipline. The second step is interpretation (ha), where you understand the meaning of what you are imitating. The last step is creation (ri), where you no longer need to think about techniques or steps: you have internalized and transcended that discipline and reached mastery.

The problem with “expert” vomiters is that they haven’t even started the imitation phase, so they are denying themselves the possibility of reaching mastery.

The solution to this problem is “easy”: whenever you decide to try something new, try that something thoroughly to its ultimate consequences. Follow the path of Shuhari. Dare to feel the cold for long enough to know whether that something is worthwhile.

Example of the Bullet Journal method

The initial resistance

A few years ago, a friend showed me she was using a Bullet Journal² to manage her tasks. At that time, I was using a digital task manager applying Getting Things Done³ concepts, so switching to an analog tool seemed like a waste of time.

The decision to try it thoroughly

A few months ago, I rediscovered the Bullet Journal, thanks to a good conversation with Richard Mújica. What made me decide to try it was the revelation that a Bullet Journal is more than a task manager: it’s a tool for reflecting integrally on your life.

I was really tempted to implement it digitally. However, I resisted that temptation and forced myself to use a physical notebook. In fact, I committed to follow the method as best I could (to start with the imitation phase).

And thank goodness I did.

The benefits of going deeper

Most of the benefits of a Bullet Journal are due to its analog nature: that you are writing by hand in a notebook. This revelation was not evident to me (interpretation phase). It was necessary to go deeper and put this method into practice. It was necessary to get out of my comfort zone and get wet in cold water.

Perhaps, in the future, I will stop using my Bullet Journal and use another tool instead. Or maybe I will try to digitize it. But, at that point, I will have internalized this method’s valuable, profound, and non-evident ideas (creation phase).

Conclusion: The path to mastery

Sheep do not vomit grass to show the shepherds how much they have eaten; they digest the food inside and outwardly produce wool and milk. Therefore, proceed similarly and do not expose your principles to the ignorant; show them the behaviour they produce after they have been digested.

—Epictetus, Enquiridion (Handbook of Life).

I am still far from mastering the Bullet Journal method. In fact, I am far from mastering most disciplines of my life: how to write fiction stories, how to apply the Zettelkasten method, how to write valuable non-fiction, how to exercise, how to eat well, and so on.

There are no shortcuts to mastery.

In fact, if someone calls themselves an “expert” in something with less than a year of work, we should be wary of their abilities. It is necessary to dedicate enough time to deepen in a discipline. And, usually, that time is much more than one year. Maybe it’s three, five, ten years… or a lifetime.

So why is it worthwhile to achieve mastery?

In my opinion, going deeper and achieving mastery is a way to be really good: both in generating value with your work for others and making the changes necessary to live a good life yourself.

Also—continuing with the conclusion of the previous post—it’s a way to give meaning to your life.

And you, do you get in the cold water bath?

You can answer me in the comments or directly to this email. In both cases, I’ll get back to you :-)

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