Thread: Don;t try. Do

Hey guys I think while I don't disagree with what ryan said in principle there is difference between thinking and focusing on something.

The most common example of this is driving a car. When you are first starting out driving you are both thinking and focusing on driving the car and thinking about it. Meaning that you are thinking and focusing about which way you need to turn the steering wheel, which pedal is the gas and how hard do you have to press to go 20,30,40,50 mph and so on and which is the brake how to come to a nice easy stop vs a fast jerky stop. Soon you develop those skills and you stop thinking about that stuff and start thinking about (if your smart) what the other cars around you are doing, for escape routes if you need to suddenly change lanes or come to a quick stop, how and when you are going to pass the car in front of you, the route you are going to take to get where you are going. But while you are thinking about all of that your body is still focusing on how you actually drive a car.

I just find with shaving if i just let my focus/MM do the job I get a better shave then when I try to think about the next move. I kinda equate it to a nice lazy Sunday drive.

Hi Joao
It sounds like you are on the right track. 15 minutes for a new shaver is really good. I remember when I first start I was taking 30-45 minutes to shave. Since you are getting good shaves with a few bad ones mixed in I would say you just need to keep at it and eventually the shaves will get more consistent and faster. Also the sensitivity should go away over time as your skin gets adjusted to using a straight.

Originally Posted by Castel33

Hey guys I think while I don't disagree with what ryan said in principle there is difference between thinking and focusing on something.

The most common example of this is driving a car. When you are first starting out driving you are both thinking and focusing on driving the car and thinking about it. Meaning that you are thinking and focusing about which way you need to turn the steering wheel, which pedal is the gas and how hard do you have to press to go 20,30,40,50 mph and so on and which is the brake how to come to a nice easy stop vs a fast jerky stop. Soon you develop those skills and you stop thinking about that stuff and start thinking about (if your smart) what the other cars around you are doing, for escape routes if you need to suddenly change lanes or come to a quick stop, how and when you are going to pass the car in front of you, the route you are going to take to get where you are going. But while you are thinking about all of that your body is still focusing on how you actually drive a car.

I just find with shaving if i just let my focus/MM do the job I get a better shave then when I try to think about the next move. I kinda equate it to a nice lazy Sunday drive.

Nice analogy there. Good example of thinking without thinking.
This thread could go off on a zen tangent

It's called the self-fulfilling prophecy. Once you reach a point where you believe you can succeed, you probably will. If you think you can't, you're probably right too.

Last time I did that (driving without thinking and believe that I could handle those little things with the back of the brain), I was hit by a car because I missed the stop sign. I intend not to make the same mistake when starting with striaght shaving as I may lose some part of me this time.

Originally Posted by con16721

It's called the self-fulfilling prophecy. Once you reach a point where you believe you can succeed, you probably will. If you think you can't, you're probably right too.

For you Star Wars fan out there, I have one thing to say:

Do or do not, there is no try.

Sorry to drift off topic but the title reminded me of that quote

Love the Yoda quote.

It's finding that practiced "zone" in which your body performs as your mind directs without having to take the mental effort to "make" it do what you want.

Driving a car, or riding a motorcycle I've intentionally become so practiced, that I don't think about the functions of operating the car (as mentioned previously--I'd quote, but I'm too lazy to go back to that page). I think and the car/bike does what I will it to do. This allows me to focus more on what needs to happen (instead of how to make it happen). Lose sight of that and you fall prey to Sweeny Todd/the moron in the next lane, the guy turning infront of you, the gravel in the curve up ahead.

The same is true for football players, basketball players, chess players, typists, etc. Any operation that can have a practiced action/reaction allows you to build that "zone" in which you operate by will rather than by force of thought.

Maybe I'm not making any sense though. It IS getting late.

blah blah blah.

Hmmmmm. I kind of like this thread, even the disagreements. I guess it's all about interpretation of the OP. I agree, when you're not devoting your CPU's processors to the minute details of angling the blade, direction, pressure, speed of stroke, second-hand stretching, all the little details of the motions or concerted effort not to move the sensitive niblets of your face, angle of your head in relation to your view of yourself in the mirror, angling your head so as not to obstruct the view of what your attempting to do in the mirror, finding a less awkward/more natural way of shaving a particular hard spot, etc. you may be on a higher level, or zone, that allows you to adjust and experiment and grow into a more proficient shaver. And the funny part of it is, since it's the "intelligence of the hands" and you experience your own consciousness as the "doer" somewhat differently and surrender more to the process than to analyzing the process (which could be interfering with the process) you naturally evolve your own individual style and techniques that are effective for you.

What's really fun is when the fear of the blade leaves the mind and the naturally Fearless One takes over and you do things with the ease and quickness of a real shaver!

When I think it through I cut myself every time!