The stonecutter's cred
A single man can break a stone single-handedly. But how can his credo help our self discovery and development ?
“When all else fails, I watch a stonecutter as he hammers away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without even a crack showing. However, it will split in two at the hundred and first blow, and I know that everything that came before it did the damage instead of that hit”
This is the stonecutter’s cred. We all know this, have seen this, and yet are mesmerised every time this happens.
Why so?
Well…
How powerful is an allegory that symbolises the ability of a single man to break an insurmountable block of stone with just a hammer?
To make the impossible happen against all odds?
We humans, as social beings, look for signs of inspiration in our environment when we get stuck. Our predisposition as a society and a race is to move forward, but depending on whether we are faced with a problem or a situation, our ability to progress can sometimes need external validation.
The stone cutter is that external validator for us to face our internal doppelgänger. His achievement gives us that first glimmer of hope that helps us readjust our thinking process. To adapt to our own failures and craft a way out.
The point at which the rock splits represents a turning point. A moment of achievement. Subconsciously we make it an allegory which represents our profession, personal growth, or triumph over a major obstacle.However, what we often do not internalise is that it also represents the culmination of an event in time which is brought together by a combination of factors.
The effort, and the external elements of the environment that helped make that effort successful.
Tenacity on a personal level is essential, but environmental circumstances equally influence our success or lack there of.
We often overemphasise on effort, without equally emphasising on the environment in which this effort can be successful. The fact however, is that the environment we live in, continuously and gradually shapes us, just like the repeated strikes of a stonecutter eventually weaken the rock. Our chances of success can be gradually increased by positive factors such as supportive work environments, educational opportunities, and nurturing communities.
But more often than not, these don’t come handed on a platter.
So, once we understand the effort we need to solve an inherent problem or situation, we also need to map the optimal environment where this effort can be successful. Gradual and deliberate changes in our existing environment to get there, is crucial..
There is also the psychological factor. That little whisper in our brain that says, don’t give up. We often emphasise on effort as the key thing. And yes it is. Effort is needed. But not everyone can be equally motivated about everything from a psychological point of view. They need that little help, to turn a corner. Discipline through effort alone can be hard for some of us. But if we shift our perspective a little bit, we can look at the situation with a different viewpoint.
In actuality, discipline can be honed in a deliberately created atmosphere that supports some of the particular behaviours that we want to build.
Think about the person who is attempting to follow a healthy diet. It gets harder to resist temptation if their home is stocked with convenience foods and unhealthy snacks. Using willpower alone to make good decisions in such a situation is a steep climb. On the other hand, if the same person removes temptations and surrounds themselves with a variety of nutrient-dense foods, their surroundings will support their aim and help them make healthier decisions.
Thereby, defaults, or the automatic decisions we make when given an option, are critical to how we behave. We frequently take the easiest route, which results in our defaults. People who have created an atmosphere that inherently supports desired behaviours are usually those with the best defaults. This setting may be the consequence of intentional decisions or, less frequently, serendipitous events.
The more defaults we create the more levers we have to adapt to situations. Instead of depending exclusively on self-control to modify our actions, we have the ability to deliberately default to a set of actions that govern different situations. This strategy uses the environment's power to accelerate and sustain improvement while acknowledging the limitations of our own capability.
Changing defaults however, almost always requires a change in community. Communities whose defaults match our preferences. For example, if running is our kitsch, but our willpower deserts us at 6 am to get out of bed, joining a running club can surround us with like-minded people, who make it easier for us to look forward to that experience. .
There is a close connection between behaviour and surroundings. Understanding the limitations of our willpower proactively helps us in changing our environment and enhancing our default settings. But, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves to accept that. Living in denial can often cause damage, and keep us stuck in the rut, without even realising it. By rightful self-reflection and acceptance, we can use the environment around us to support constructive habits, which can increase the sustainability and attainable nature of our personal development.
The stonecutter’s credo is life at its fundamental core. It’s simple. It’s powerful. But the truth is, unless forced, most of us will not want to undertake that assignment. The stonecutter's environment forces him to focus on a single objective and by doing so he breaks an unassailable block of stone single-handedly. Sure physics plays a crucial role to set him up for success but that’s part of his environment.
That’s the take-away.