Hi everybody!!
This is the second part of a series of posts I started a long time ago. And I'm planning to keep it coming!
One important thing before we get started: this post is dedicated to ANY kind of study, practice or profession, not only artist. We humans are really similar when it is about studying and all this what I am about to share with you are things related to any kind of practice (even physical).
In the first post Guide To The Beginner - Your Path To Become A Professional Artist Vol.1 we took a look of this topic without going too deep in techniques or study methods. The idea is to change this in the following volumes.
I hope you understand that I am also writing this words to me also remember the base and theory that are behind the studying habits. So I invite you to grab your sketchbook, some cool pencils or pen and let's get started!
Number One: Attention Issues.
It is very important to understand that this is not only about repeating the same study once and over and over again but also about paying a lot of attention while doing. This way you will find mistakes that will come up while studying. So you will get better in technique and get closer (and not further!) to that quality you are aiming to.
The Brain, a Programmable Entity
The brain is indeed a very powerful machine, or better said a computer. And so, it can be programmable. It is important to understand that are the habits what make us to lose the attention when we are studying or just when we need it: these are the habits that make us check Steemit, Facebook, Whatsapp the check if someone wrote to us. This way we lose the time finding ourselves studying no more than six minutes each time that we interrupt the process once and over and over again.
This way the brain can't process the study and not only that, but it also makes the bond with the bad habits stronger
Number Two: One Problem a Time.
Every time I find myself studying I start like a boss. I solve all my problems and take in all the knowledge. Five minutes later I remember that I gotta take the trash out, clean the dishes, clean my rats' cage (Yes, I do have pet rats), etc. And I am not even talking about the messages from my friends, clients and more. So in the end I sacrifice my own study to attend my daily responsibilities
BIG MISTAKE !
It is WAY more productive to use one, two, even three hours to solve all the issues around you that would bother you while studying and then sit down and start your practices. For example before starting studying today I decided to clean all my house, solve some personal issues, be patient, sit and write down this post and after it I will make a big macchiato and will start my practices with cool background music until the Sun will fade behind the horizon.
This way my mind has only one priority: Studying, practicing -> Incorporating knowledge, reaffirming it
Number Three: Priorities and Procastinating.
When it is about starting a very common problem that almost all of us have is... Starting. There is always a good reason to avoid it: "It's too late, tomorrow I can start better, I'm tired, I'm hungry, *I gotta write a post in steemit about how to study. Any reason is good, right?
But this is easy: you only have to force yourself to make the first step forward, then the inertia will take you far, far beyond!
Remember: One issue a time!
Problem #1: What am I going to study?
Problem #2: To sit down and start studying.
Problem #3: Keep focus.
And that's all! It sounds much worse than it is, that's true. But I am not lying when I tell you that it is way easier to do it this way instead just do all that at once with chaos as your friend. The chances to get frustrated are way less when you go step by step and so less chances to quit.
Number four: How to solve this problem.
Your surroundings are very decisive when it's about staying focused in one goal. Despite of where you are. Maybe you want to study in your bedroom and everything around you make you think about how much fun is to play League of Legends or to turn on the tv to see a sunday movie. That lady or boy from facebook that you can't stop thinking about and you want to check if she/he made a new post so you can like it before than anyone else. Yes, absolutely everything take our mind apart from our goal, which is to focus and develop ourselves.
You don t really need to be a genius to solve this, you just need to have will: close the Facebook webpage, webwhatsapp, don't uninstall League of Legends (FOR GOD'S SAKE NO!!), but maybe you can erase the desktop icon so you don t have to always see it every time you minimize your apps. Set your cellphone in do not disturb. Clean your room, turn on an aromatic candle, put some music and feel your own peace!
This is just perfect! We got rid of all distractions! Now what?
This is the moment for that double macchiato, sitting down and start studying. Nothing around you distracts yo. Your mind will have it much easier to keep the rhythm and focus in what you are doing.
But then, the legendary enemy comes...
Number Five: Frustration.
When it is about studying, this is a critic point. When you find alone with yourself, it s very plausible that your worst enemy comes out from the shadows and tells you how much you suck (your own mind). This is where it doesn't matter any more if your room is clean or not, if you solved any responsibility before starting: your mind is telling you that you are running through the wrong field, that this is not your path, you have no talent and you gotta stop now and quit.
Let me tell you something: That is not true
The curves of learning are constant and the periods of frustration always show a develop in your skills of observing your very own work. Every time you feel frustrated because you perceive your work in a negative way it means that you are one step closer to be better. Your eye develops way faster than your hand or hability, this is why you feel stuck.
In RPG video-games every time our character levels up we have a pop up throwing fireworks through the screen and screeming "CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU LEVELED UP AND YOU GOT NEW SKILLZ!". But in real life (sadly) it's not like that: this leveling up process is very silent and most of times really lonely. It is very easy to just ignore it and scream to the world how untalented we are.
My advice to you is that if you see that something went wrong, repeat it patiently until it comes up well. If you know that something is wrong there, then you gotta look after what is not working and change that as many times until you be happy with the result. This is the fastest and most efficient way to get to your objective (despite if you are an artist, musician, lawyer or psychologist).
In these lonely moments of studying the answer is the following...
Conclusion: Be Your Very Best Friend.
Loneliness is not something bad, not at all. It is not a ghosts chasing us. Many people thing that it is actually something bad and so they need to be with someone the whole time and by this always avoid to find face to face with themselves.
Bad news: YOU HAVE TO find you against yourself and solve whatever bothers you from your own personality. But most of all: you have to know how to forgive yourself.
Think about your son, best friend or simply the person you would love at most in this world. Think that he/she has three or four years old. Would you shout at her/his face, insult her and say that she should quit whatever she is trying to do?
Would you?
Clearly the answer is no.
But then... Why would you treat yourself in this way? It doesn't make any sense.
Learn to forgive yourself is one of the most important lessons. We all fail, we all are gonna fail, and thanks to failing we will succeed.
If you do not know how or what to change. Try to see yourself from another perspective: see yourself as your best friend in each situation from the daily basis. Analyze which are the things that bother you at most from that friend of yours (yourself) and which things you like at most. Then make a mental list (or on paper) and work on it. Try to change the things that bother you by changing them for new and unexpected things. And about the positive things, work on them as well: mark them, make them even more visible in your personality. Become that person that you love at most.
Be your best friend.
I hope this little guide will help you to get develop as a person and professional. Honestly, this is my way of watching and understand the study. I also find very useful to get closer to ourselves. I think that we can't separate our humanity and personality from our profession. This is why both should be worked at the same time.
I invite you to try this way and to share with me if it helped you to get to your goals.
Good luck!!!