The month of May is always the time that many parents and young girls start thinking about self-defense classes before college. I couldn’t agree more – self defense is an essential life skill, especially when you are aware of the statistics of assaults on college campuses.
However, learning quickly is rarely the best way to retain knowledge and skill. The fastest way is to learn slowly.
In this day and age, social networks offer quick fixes for losing weight without changing your diet or getting the 6-pack you always wanted without working out. The norm has been to expect results quickly and with minimal effort! This “need” to succeed “yesterday” becomes a trap, hindering our ability to see the big picture and act accordingly.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the rapidly advancing technology; the education system in recent decades has also taught us that being “good” means succeeding in exams. Students are required to memorize material without deeply understanding it, creating significant gaps between real knowledge and the knowledge needed to pass exams. When a student fails, the message they often receive is that they are not good enough, they didn’t try hard enough, or they simply don’t fit the system. The system doesn’t consider its own systemic failure. As a result, the student learns to memorize, and often fears failure. I dare say that many don’t even try to do something they might fail at because of this.
This perception shaped by the education system also affects the world of physical development and the learning of non-pedagogical skills. Many trainees believe they should start training with a certain basic knowledge and “fail to fail” and learn by doing. The instinctive solution for many is to increase the intensity of their training and push themselves to their limits to see results. The thought is that the more they push, the better their results will be. While there is some truth to this, without proper balance and sufficient rest, it’s a recipe for injuries, fatigue, and, ultimately, a decline in motivation and passion.
In the work environment, many believe that long working hours guarantee higher productivity. However, the result is often the opposite. Employees who spend countless hours in front of screens or in endless meetings find themselves less efficient, making more mistakes, and experiencing lower job satisfaction. The difficulty in finding a balance between work life and personal life can lead to poor results and both physical and mental health issues.
The fastest way to achieve results is not to learn fast. Learning slowly and carefully, considering the body and mind’s needs, and allowing breaks and rest leads to better overall and long-term results.
The “All-In” approach can be tempting, much like the initial enthusiasm of a new relationship. All-in means no boundaries, and this tendency is usually accompanied by motivation, rather than discipline. When the motivation is gone, or there’s a setback that feels “too hard,” this approach often shifts to its opposite – “All Out.”
Breaks, rest, and recovery are essential for maintaining health and efficiency over time. Incorporating these can help us achieve our goals efficiently and healthily without compromising the path to them.
In an environment where immediate results are so highly valued, it becomes even more important to understand the value of the process. Every learning process, whether academic, personal, or professional, requires time for maturation and development. How we handle the journey towards our goals will greatly affect the quality of the results we get.
The key to effective learning and lasting success is to develop an awareness of how we are balancing hard work with recovery and processing of new information. It’s also important to take time to evaluate the process itself, learn from mistakes, and understand the steps needed to achieve the goal, rather than focusing solely on achieving the goal at any cost. “At any cost” is usually very costly.
This principle is also true for interpersonal relationships. When people enter a new relationship, there is a tendency to dive headfirst into it without building a strong and healthy foundation. A relationship built slowly, with attention to details and the needs of both sides, will ultimately be stronger and more resilient.
Understanding that the journey to the goal is as important as the goal itself allows us to build processes that lead to healthy and lasting success in all areas of life.
Do something amazing,
Tsahi Shemesh
Founder & CEO
Krav Maga Experts