Joshua Waitzkin Quotes

In performance training, first we learn to flow with whatever comes. Then we learn to use whatever comes to our advantage. Finally, we learn to be completely self-sufficient and create our own earthquakes, so our mental process feeds itself explosive inspirations without the need for outside stimulus.

…to incrementally condense the external manifestation of the technique, while keeping true to its essence. Over time, expansiveness decreases, while potency increases. I call this method ‘making smaller circles.

study of numbers to leave numbers, or form to leave form

The learning principle is to plunge into the detailed mystery of the micro in order to understand what makes the macro tick.

In the long run, painful losses may prove much more valuable than wins. Those who are armed with a healthy attitude, and are able to draw wisdom from every experience, good or bad, are the ones who make it down the road. They are also the ones who are happier along the way.

Over the years, I’ve gotten better and better at returning from mental and physical exhaustion…The fighter who can recover in the thirty seconds between rounds…will have a huge advantage over the guy who is still huffing and puffing, mentally or physically, from the last battle.

The key was to roll with the evolving situation, and contour new tactics around the principles we had discovered back home…if you have a solid foundation, you should be fine. Tactics come easy once principles are in the blood.

the study of numbers to leave numbers, or form to leave form

In all disciplines, there are times when a performer is ready for action, and times when he or she is soft, in flux, broken-down or in a period of growth.

Painful losses may prove much more valuable than wins

the fields of learning and performance are an exploration of greyness —

I couldn't count on the world being silent, so my only option was to become at peace with the noise.

In the absence of continual external reinforcement, we must be our own monitor, and quality of presence is often the best gauge. We cannot expect to touch excellence if “going through the motions” is the norm of our lives. On the other hand, if deep, fluid presence becomes second nature, then life, art, and learning take on a richness that will continually surprise and delight. Those who excel are those who maximize each moment’s creative potential — for these masters of living, presence to the day-to-day learning process is akin to that purity of focus others dream of achieving in rare climactic moments when everything is on the line. The secret is that everything is always on the line. The more present we are at practice, the more present we will be in competition, in the boardroom, at the exam, the operating table, the big stage. If we have any hope of attaining excellence, let alone of showing what we’ve got under pressure, we have to be prepared by a lifestyle of reinforcement. Presence must be like breathing.

In your performance training, the first step to mastering the zone is to practice the ebb and flow of stress and recovery. This should involve interval training

Not so much to do a big brainstorm, but to tap what you've been working on
unconsciously overnight. Which of course, is a principle that Hemingway wrote
about when he spoke about the two core principles in his creative writing
process, number one ending the workday with something left to write and — So not doing everything he had to do. Which most people do, but they
feel this sense of guilt if they're not working. You and I have discussed this at
length, but leaving something left to write and then the second principle, release
your mind from it. Don't think about it all night. Really let go. Have a glass of
wine. Then wake up first thing in the morning and reapply your mind to it.