Adam Alter

That's a really important clarification point that essentially before you begin, you want to slow down, you want to take a pause. And that could be for all sorts of different reasons.

That's a really important clarification point that essentially before you begin, you want to slow down, you want to take a pause. And that could be for all sorts of different reasons.

And there are some great examples of, for example, athletes who are stuck in the process of some sort of competitive sport and they pause, they take a beat before they do anything, and then they find that they perform much more effectively. One classic example of this is the soccer player Lionel Messi, I think the greatest player of all time.

And there are some great examples of, for example, athletes who are stuck in the process of some sort of competitive sport and they pause, they take a beat before they do anything, and then they find that they perform much more effectively. One classic example of this is the soccer player Lionel Messi, I think the greatest player of all time.

And there are some great examples of, for example, athletes who are stuck in the process of some sort of competitive sport and they pause, they take a beat before they do anything, and then they find that they perform much more effectively. One classic example of this is the soccer player Lionel Messi, I think the greatest player of all time.

He spends the first five, roughly three to five minutes of every match he plays ambling around the center of the field, watching all the other players and not really committing to the game. And what he's effectively doing there is he's taking those few minutes to calm down emotionally because he gets quite anxious.

He spends the first five, roughly three to five minutes of every match he plays ambling around the center of the field, watching all the other players and not really committing to the game. And what he's effectively doing there is he's taking those few minutes to calm down emotionally because he gets quite anxious.

He spends the first five, roughly three to five minutes of every match he plays ambling around the center of the field, watching all the other players and not really committing to the game. And what he's effectively doing there is he's taking those few minutes to calm down emotionally because he gets quite anxious.

But also he's taking that time to develop a strategy that will be useful for the remaining 85 minutes. And so what you're suggesting about, you know, if you're in a creative pursuit and arguably the game of soccer, there are a million different things you could do. You have to be creative. you do want to have lots of different ideas. You want to try lots of different things.

But also he's taking that time to develop a strategy that will be useful for the remaining 85 minutes. And so what you're suggesting about, you know, if you're in a creative pursuit and arguably the game of soccer, there are a million different things you could do. You have to be creative. you do want to have lots of different ideas. You want to try lots of different things.

But also he's taking that time to develop a strategy that will be useful for the remaining 85 minutes. And so what you're suggesting about, you know, if you're in a creative pursuit and arguably the game of soccer, there are a million different things you could do. You have to be creative. you do want to have lots of different ideas. You want to try lots of different things.

And by pausing for those few minutes, he's setting himself up to be able to do that. So I think you're right that after that pause, you want to basically do something, anything. And by definition, you're not stuck if you're moving. And so to move, even if it's not exactly in the right direction you want to be going in, is quite valuable because it unsticks you.

And by pausing for those few minutes, he's setting himself up to be able to do that. So I think you're right that after that pause, you want to basically do something, anything. And by definition, you're not stuck if you're moving. And so to move, even if it's not exactly in the right direction you want to be going in, is quite valuable because it unsticks you.

And by pausing for those few minutes, he's setting himself up to be able to do that. So I think you're right that after that pause, you want to basically do something, anything. And by definition, you're not stuck if you're moving. And so to move, even if it's not exactly in the right direction you want to be going in, is quite valuable because it unsticks you.

It gets you oriented in the right direction. One of my favorite examples of this is... Jeff Tweedy, the front man for Wilco, and he's also a writer. He talks about the process of writing books and also the process of writing songs. And he says it's difficult. Most people who are very good at this say that it's difficult. And what he does is he'll wake up in the morning and he'll sort of pour out.

It gets you oriented in the right direction. One of my favorite examples of this is... Jeff Tweedy, the front man for Wilco, and he's also a writer. He talks about the process of writing books and also the process of writing songs. And he says it's difficult. Most people who are very good at this say that it's difficult. And what he does is he'll wake up in the morning and he'll sort of pour out.

It gets you oriented in the right direction. One of my favorite examples of this is... Jeff Tweedy, the front man for Wilco, and he's also a writer. He talks about the process of writing books and also the process of writing songs. And he says it's difficult. Most people who are very good at this say that it's difficult. And what he does is he'll wake up in the morning and he'll sort of pour out.

This is how he describes it. He says, I'm going to pour out all my bad ideas. And so what he's doing is he's not writing stuff that's great necessarily. A lot of it won't be used. But he kind of, I don't know, oils the gears and moves in the right direction by just pouring out the bad stuff that's sitting at the top. That's how he thinks of it.

This is how he describes it. He says, I'm going to pour out all my bad ideas. And so what he's doing is he's not writing stuff that's great necessarily. A lot of it won't be used. But he kind of, I don't know, oils the gears and moves in the right direction by just pouring out the bad stuff that's sitting at the top. That's how he thinks of it.

This is how he describes it. He says, I'm going to pour out all my bad ideas. And so what he's doing is he's not writing stuff that's great necessarily. A lot of it won't be used. But he kind of, I don't know, oils the gears and moves in the right direction by just pouring out the bad stuff that's sitting at the top. That's how he thinks of it.