The Bicycle Approach to Life

 The Bicycle Approach to Life......& How You can use it to play even better chess as well as enjoy it more....

There was this story about this guy who was ultra-competitive and a real go-getter. When he was young, he started biking down the beach near his house. And when he started he would push super hard. Pedaling as hard as he could. No matter how hard he pedaled, he would never get lower than 43 minutes to finish the trail.

After a few weeks, he started getting less and less excited about going through that slog. He became tired. One day, he thought how about today I just take it easy, and go at a decent pace. He could enjoy the view and didn't need to strain himself. At the end, he looked down and couldn't believe his eyes. He took 45 minutes.

All that effort, strain and pain, just for an extra 2 minutes. It doesn't help consistency because you are more likely to stop doing things when they become tiring and when they feel like a slog.

For chess, its similar, training can be hard but while playing, its best to have an approach like that. You are going to be playing for 3-4 hours or more. Being in a strenuous state all that time is not only unhealthy but might not even be productive for your game.

This story is quite profound.

What thing are you currently doing that you could perhaps apply this idea to?

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