In the mood for learning

Learning tai ji is hard work. I guess that's true with learning anything! The more common excuse for procastination (to learn) is that "I'm not in the mood". Taking tai ji as an example, it's highly dependent on the internal state of mind on what you actually learn in a training session.

When i'm not in a good mood, the training session feels wasted because I rushed the training, not appreciating the lessons i can gather from each move. This will actually make me feel less wanting to train and the initial thought of training for at least 1 hour will be shortened to 30 minutes, or less as i leave in a huff... ;) When I'm in a good mood, I feel that i've learnt so much that it's difficult to contain the joy of that learning experience!

Good mood breeds good learning. Bad mood breeds bad learning.

So how do you make sure you do "good learning" all the time? I believe the key is to move from bad mood to good mood whenever you are learning. Even when you are NOT learning, moving from bad mood to good mood is always a good thing!

There are several methods people use to move from bad mood to good mood. Some people prefer breathing exercises, slowing the rhythm of the breath seems to help them. Some likes listening to music. I find doing the form itself a good method to ease you into a good mood. Of course, you can always try alcohol, cigarettes, drugs... One of my teachers actually proposed a bit of alcohol before doing the form! (drunken tai chi anyone?) I personally don't do any of those but that's a choice on my part.

As I peel through these methods, somehow, "having fun" seems to underlie all of them! It's a useful gauge of your mood, and it's also a useful method to employ so that you are learning. With all the complexities of learning, having fun seems to be a simple rule to remember while you are learning!

So the next time you are trying to learn, try to remember to have fun. That way, your learning experience will be enhanced and you'll be having more fun. :D