How high can you go?
When singing, your voice has a range of notes you can make noise at. It might not be huge but it usually isn’t tiny.
Many singers can start singing a scale or song near the bottom of their range and really struggle to make the highest notes of the run.
They lose confidence as they try to push their voice higher. The more they push against this wall of fear, the more it pushes back. The worse their sound.
There is an odd thing about this. The high notes they are striving for are well below their natural range. They can easily sing the notes.
The trouble is all in their mind.
In the moment of that note run, they lose perspective of their full range.
High notes in their head are difficult. So this high note relative to the other notes is difficult. Yet it isn’t high. They choke for no reason.
Physics vs Mind
A lot of our struggles in life aren’t against the laws of physics. They are against relative ideas of limits in our minds.
Often these limits are based on our current environment. We are lost in the moment and lose sight of the evidence of our real limits.
This is the same with breaking new goals.
The famous 4-minute-mile was seen as a hard ceiling. Once it was broken, many runners started breaking it who were all physically capable of breaking it in the years before. But they didn’t think they could.
Humans, heat and culture
The UK is expecting the hottest day on record. 40
I wanted to try running a marathon. I suggested my idea to my sister who became annoyed at me for deliberately trying to hospitalise myself.
For me, it seemed logical. I like to push my limits.
Normally if I want to do heat training I’d need to go somewhere hot, for once I can do it on my doorstep. Plus in London, if it ever gets too much for me I can walk into any supermarket with air-con and get a drink. Safer than going to a desert…
The people of Britain think this temperature is scary. It’s far from their baseline. The news tells us everything is going to shit. So it will.
Sadly my sister won this argument when we both remembered that I still can’t run. I haven’t fully recovered from my leg fracture during an ultramarathon two months ago… dammit.
👆 Tangent in a grey box
Intelligent people can be more stuck in their ways. Showing them compelling evidence against their beliefs doesn’t work.
They are more capable of coming up with elaborate explanations as to why they are right.
They are also more used to being correct, so can develop an inbuilt assumption that others are wrong.
Don’t waste time arguing with intelligent people who don’t often change their mind.
… and back to culture
Humans carry out their normal lives in freezing arctic conditions and desert furnaces. Travelling is one of the best cures for the mind.
It helps you question how you do things. Is it because it is the right thing to do or because it’s just how those around you do it. It also helps you question how you feel and what you fear.
Danger
We are built to feel danger develop as we go further from safety. The problem is we don’t always have the correct awareness of our safe limits.
Our mind establishes the limit as the start point. Venturing out is leaving our comfort zone. However, we can go a long way and never even leave our safe limits at all.
Our mind tells us this is difficult. We start to feel the pressure, anxiety and fear.
We doubt our ability. We don’t commit
We expect to fail and we do, yet there is no reason.
Ponder this
When you find something difficult and feel you come up against barriers. Ask these questions:
Why am I failing to do this thing?
Is there a physical or mental barrier?
Is it something that is truly difficult/impossible?
Is there evidence outside of my current situation where this isn’t a barrier?
What would I do if I thought this was easy?