A metaphor for improvement...
For a number of years now I have been involved with collecting assembling and painting Warhammer 40k armies.
Zack and I used to spend Wednesday afternoons together and one afternoon we walked past a Gamesworkshop store and walked in.
It started out as something I could do with Zack and I discovered a creative outlet for myself.
Then I met a guy called Richard, he's since become one of my best friends, but back then he became my painting tutor. He taught me about base colours, layering, drybrushing, blending and loads of other techniques.
Painting these little figures became my meditation.
I tried meditation years ago, as part of my karate practice, we also developed the zen aspect through yoga and mediation. Sitting and doing nothing? Can you imagine me doing nothing? Can you imagine me being able to stop my thoughts and think of nothing? No neither can I.
Don't misunderstand me. Every Sunday I would do a 3 hour sit. Meditating and practicing. Kisen our guide was incredible because he actually got it, in a way that most yoga instructors don't. It's always going to be your path. Being in the moment, being present. Always happened in the ring, to a certain extent. I always mediated before a fight to clear my head and enter with nothing going on. So you fight the techniques in front of you and not your preconceived ideas.
Then I mentioned to a friend that I had a fear of heights, gleefully he took me to the climbing wall. The first week I achieved a 6 foot off the floor climb. The following week I climbed the full wall. No fear just completely in the moment.
Now that's what I get from painting. Last week I'd prepared a model. Base coated it, put on my various base colors in each area that would form a foundation to the concept of the piece. I then gave it a wash to deepen some of the shadows and draw out the detail.
Richard popped over and stopped me. Give the base coats another couple of layers. Make sure you start at a much higher value than you need to. Then you can deepen the shadows by using a series of darker shades and lift the highlights through a series of lighter shades, making the model 'pop'.
If the colors are too vivid, then it's easy to use a wash to tie the color scheme together.
I sat down and did as I was told. Looked so much better. This evening I started to deepen the shadows and low lights. Creating detail that will only exist within the paint.
So where's the metaphor?
If you want to set a goal. Go big. Make it bright vivid and more defined than you need to to be. Then you can work it up higher, or create more depth to give it more substance.
Yesterday I wrote an article on goal setting and I came to the realization, that for it to be successful you need to get someone else to help you. Someone that can recognize what you are already capable of doing, and help you raise the bar.
During the goal setting and visualization part, I think you need to get creative and impassioned about what it is you want to do. But then when the process of doing gets going lose the emotional attachment and focus on completing all the logical steps.
Bradley Wiggins won the Tour De France this year. His coach remarked that this year he was more professional, more clinical and less emotional. He'd got control of his chimp. It was a remarkable year for him.
What could you achieve if you could get control of those emotions?
Zack and I used to spend Wednesday afternoons together and one afternoon we walked past a Gamesworkshop store and walked in.
It started out as something I could do with Zack and I discovered a creative outlet for myself.
Then I met a guy called Richard, he's since become one of my best friends, but back then he became my painting tutor. He taught me about base colours, layering, drybrushing, blending and loads of other techniques.
Painting these little figures became my meditation.
I tried meditation years ago, as part of my karate practice, we also developed the zen aspect through yoga and mediation. Sitting and doing nothing? Can you imagine me doing nothing? Can you imagine me being able to stop my thoughts and think of nothing? No neither can I.
Don't misunderstand me. Every Sunday I would do a 3 hour sit. Meditating and practicing. Kisen our guide was incredible because he actually got it, in a way that most yoga instructors don't. It's always going to be your path. Being in the moment, being present. Always happened in the ring, to a certain extent. I always mediated before a fight to clear my head and enter with nothing going on. So you fight the techniques in front of you and not your preconceived ideas.
Then I mentioned to a friend that I had a fear of heights, gleefully he took me to the climbing wall. The first week I achieved a 6 foot off the floor climb. The following week I climbed the full wall. No fear just completely in the moment.
Now that's what I get from painting. Last week I'd prepared a model. Base coated it, put on my various base colors in each area that would form a foundation to the concept of the piece. I then gave it a wash to deepen some of the shadows and draw out the detail.
Richard popped over and stopped me. Give the base coats another couple of layers. Make sure you start at a much higher value than you need to. Then you can deepen the shadows by using a series of darker shades and lift the highlights through a series of lighter shades, making the model 'pop'.
If the colors are too vivid, then it's easy to use a wash to tie the color scheme together.
I sat down and did as I was told. Looked so much better. This evening I started to deepen the shadows and low lights. Creating detail that will only exist within the paint.
So where's the metaphor?
If you want to set a goal. Go big. Make it bright vivid and more defined than you need to to be. Then you can work it up higher, or create more depth to give it more substance.
Yesterday I wrote an article on goal setting and I came to the realization, that for it to be successful you need to get someone else to help you. Someone that can recognize what you are already capable of doing, and help you raise the bar.
During the goal setting and visualization part, I think you need to get creative and impassioned about what it is you want to do. But then when the process of doing gets going lose the emotional attachment and focus on completing all the logical steps.
Bradley Wiggins won the Tour De France this year. His coach remarked that this year he was more professional, more clinical and less emotional. He'd got control of his chimp. It was a remarkable year for him.
What could you achieve if you could get control of those emotions?
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