Noptimization

Have you ever thought of attempting something but found yourself unable to start?

You might be stuck in a cycle of Noptimization.

Noptimization: N. When the desire to optimize the initial attempt of a task prevents a person from ever beginning the task.

Human beings think in different ways, but there are patterns and circuits of thought that exist within us all (think reward pathways for example). Another shared circuit, is the tendency to give our desires our best shot. However, with the availability of vast quantities of information on the internet, it’s difficult to distinguish our desires from preferred distraction. Furthermore, for virtually any topic we commit to learning, there are 1,000 ways to start, and this large selection of options may cause a form of choice paralysis. Conflicting websites balancing the pros and cons of every aspect of each course of action available can have us stranded with an incomprehensible amount of options, so we just postpone making the decision or find it hard to commit to the choice already made. For example, those who want to lower their weight have over 1,000 diets and 1,000 exercises to choose from. If you want to start a business, there are 1,000 ways to do so and 1,000 examples to study. If you want to start a blog, there are 1,000 posts you could have as your first post, so how do you choose where to start?

Simply said, pick anywhere as your starting position and move from there.

If you’re interested in learning how to cook, you don’t need to spend 100 hours sifting through recipes to try and decide what’s the best way to begin learning how to cook, instead just choose a starting point and see where it takes you e.g., Third easy chicken recipe off an internet search. Alternatively, you could also decide you want to cook chicken in a certain way; pan fry, and just see how it turns out. Either way, after beginning, you’ll have more fun because nobody likes stressing over where to begin and secondly, you’ll begin the learning process which will help guide you in the direction you want to move in. Perhaps after trying one method you’ll decide that you don’t like it because it’s too complicated or it doesn’t taste as good as you had expected. This trend will apply to forms of exercise, styles of music you might be interested in or even books you thought you’d want to read.

Another example, if you think you want to begin exercising, don’t feel an immediate need to pick the right gym, best running shoes, and decide that the best method of getting fit is one type of exercise or another… rather, try going out for a walk, or a short jog. Remember, a 3-minute jog is better than staying at home for an hour deciding where you’d want to go jogging. That 3-minute jog will also help jump start your system and you’ll feel much better about the fact that you began. Afterwards, you’ll be less scared to get into it the next time you decide to go jogging; matter of fact, maybe at the end of your 3-minute jog you’ll begin to think that you could jog for a little longer and push it to 5 minutes… or 10. The point is to get moving from an arbitrary location than trying to find the best position to start from.

Many people who began business only became successful because they learned from their mistakes and experiences. Luckily, you can learn from their mistakes and experiences too, but you mustn’t be afraid to make your own mistakes.

One part of the Noptimization problem is that we are uncomfortable with failure. Educational systems tend to favor acquiring the right answer over thinking creatively and the use of multiple-choice questions on exams leaves little room for partial credit. When we are thinking about finishing a task, we think of “How do we do this task as best as we can?”. What must be realized is you can get to any skill-level regardless of your initial expertise. Although talent plays a large role in the rate of progression, given enough time, a week or a decade, anybody reading this should be able to comprehend even astrophysics. If you can’t doodle and decide you want to learn how to draw, you can achieve that with time, more time perhaps than a “talented” person, but still reachable all the same. What deters us from learning something like astrophysics or drawing is the loss of motivation; in the words of MC Slug from Atmosphere’s song Clay: “Movement needs motive, it’s easier to be sedated.”

So how do we get motivated?

It’s important to remember that motivation does not immediately kick in. Writers must frequently write anything to get their brain into a “Writing” mood; athletes need to stretch and get their body warmed up before they begin sprinting. Even if we enjoy doing a task, the enjoyment of a task might only come after we have completed it or started working on it. Before a workout we might be reluctant to go to the gym, but afterwards, the endorphins make us feel spectacular. Prior to cleaning up a messy room, we might feel anxious but after we’ve finished the task, there’s a sense of euphoria and accomplishment. At the start of a project we might feel lethargic, or likely to postpone a group meeting because we are unable to get over the initial energy barrier of beginning said project.

At the very least, we should admit to ourselves that what we want to work on in life, is larger than how we feel at any given moment. Our goals and desires transcend time and as such, we are likely to work towards them for prolonged periods of time. When we feel a true desire for something, we don’t tire of it, but slowly make progress and enter a positive feedback loop of improvement in the task and motivation or completion and desire to continue working. These positive-feedback loops allow us to achieve what we set ourselves against. In the words of RA Scion from his song Bury [Me]: “Valiant, is the warrior who meets his challenges.”

Despite wanting similar things, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that there can be multiple correct ways to do something. Since motivation drives us internally, you need to figure out how to stay motivated for yourself, otherwise you will lose steam. Some people work better in groups, some people work better alone. Some people work better in the silence of their homes and some people work better at cafes. Whichever way you learn and whatever your method of pursuit is, it’s important that you determine it for yourself and follow it; that’s the only way you’ll maintain your motivational momentum. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you and what one person finds as an easy method does not always translate to another person. Instead of focusing on where you are, try to imagine where you want to be. Keeping your eye on the prize will keep your motivation high as you work to reach it. Evidence states in his song “You”: “The further we fly, the closer it seems.”

Also, on maintaining motivation, consider the impact social media has on your drive. Some people take pictures of their bodies and use them to motivate others as well as themselves. In some cases, people follow artists in the hope of finding their own inspiration. While this works for many people, I, personally, find that being off social media has helped me not only regain my focus but also work better towards my goals. Once we remove the social aspect of our actions we begin to think of ourselves for ourselves, entering a space where only we care about the results. This isolation with self provides us the environment we need to hone our skills and focus on the perfection or profession level we desire.

For a while, I had an Instagram on which I would post my digital artwork. The most likes I ever got on a picture was somewhere around 50 or 80 something, nothing significant. I’d follow some amazing concept artists and tried to study their works; shading, composition, gesture, all of it. Although following their posts would make me want to become better, I found myself somewhat limited in my thinking. After a while, I began to draw on a square canvas because my thinking was “This will look better when I post it on Instagram”. After shutting down my account, I was drawing and realized that I had not changed the canvas size; I was still drawing in a square. Midway through the sketch I was working on I even began to wonder who the character I drawing was was and whether he’s even what I was thinking about.

Had I just been doodling thinking I was working on something?

Did I even care to finish this sketch?

Afterwards, I decided that I wanted to redraw a character of mine in more detail, ironing out the shape of his armor and sword, and that’s exactly what I ended up working on. I worked hard to think of the perspective, the details of the Armor, how the folds of his clothes, and I spent about three weeks working on it; some days for hours and others for minutes. The thing that motivated me the most was myself, and that feeling of doing something for myself, feeling good about it and continuing it for myself. I would work on the hand until I felt like all the bones were in their position, after all, the picture wouldn’t be done when it was ready to be posted, it was done when I had decided I wanted to think about something else.

So, while some people benefit from social media, consider the possibility that the goals you truly want to achieve do not belong on the internet, but should rather reside within you.

More recently I’ve been incorporating cardio into my weekly schedule. Approximately five minutes away from my house is a walk path that I used to jog on, currently undergoing a lot of construction. Since the first kilometre of the path has been destroyed I felt a slight drawback to going there again, it would take too long for me to reach the beginning of the path to begin my jogging. Instead I just started jogging laps around a nearby school. I might join a gym later but for now, I’m working my way there.

The point is to get moving.

You are the one who decides what you do with your time, and your desires are yours to achieve. Keep focus on the things that you want, try to avoid the disturbances and distractions that deter you from reaching what you strive towards. Eventually you will reach that summit you wish to climb and when you do, your future self will thank your present self.

Have you ever thought of attempting something but found yourself unable to start?