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Notes on Autopilot

Expressive, Fearless & Mindful. A killer combination

By January 26, 2025No Comments

So back when I was in school, I was randomly selected for a gaming competition. The game was Mortal Kombat on a PlayStation. Not only had I never heard of the game, but I had also never used or owned a gaming console before. Nevertheless, I still participated—thinking that the worst thing that could happen was basically ending up on the losing side.

As soon as I entered the room, someone handed me a controller and asked me to sit down. Then another student was paired with me for the first round. I asked him if he had played the game before, and he said, “Oh yes, many times. It’s my favorite game.” And I thought to myself, “You’re so fucked, you don’t even know how to use the controller.”

Anyhoo, someone fired up the PlayStation, and boom, within the next 2 minutes, they started the game, and the match was on. I had no room to even process or think about it.

Now what did I do? I literally pressed random buttons, without even thinking or looking at the controller. I was pressing multiple buttons at the same time, like a madman. I kept on pressing buttons until I won. And just like that, I had won the first round. And then the second round. Fast forward—believe it or not, I entered the final round.

My opponent for the final was someone who loved gaming, was really passionate about it, and, of course, much more skilled than me. I used the same approach: pressed random shit. But this time, he beat me. I ended up with the runner-up certificate, and he ended up with the first prize.

A couple of people came up to me and told me how I played really well (I was literally laughing inside, knowing the fact that I had touched a controller for the first time today).

 

Okay, so, back to the point. Why and how the heck did I win the first few rounds? I had two ingredients from the title of this post. I was expressive and fearless. But not mindful (because I had no idea what the fuck I was doing).

This is applicable not only in sports but literally everything you do. The best athletes, the best entrepreneurs, the best innovators—are expressive, fearless, and mindful (for the most part).

1, When you’re expressive, you don’t hold back. You let yourself flow. You let your body flow.
2. When you’re fearless, you don’t think about the outcome. You perform. You’re not afraid to try something new—a new technique, a new approach, whatever it may be.
3. When you’re mindful, you use the expressiveness and fearlessness wisely. You are not reckless, but you’re also not holding back. And that is the sweet spot.

Sometimes, when we’re too mindful, maybe we forget to be fearless and expressive. And sometimes, when you overdo the fearless bit, you might end up with a blunder.

A balance between the three is a killer combo.

Break the rules sometimes. Be fearless. Be expressive. Be mindful.

There are many examples of this—Yuvraj Singh hitting 6 sixes, the boxer Prince Naseem Hamed in his prime—the list goes on.

Prateek Katyal

I create ‘stuff’ on the interwebs ? ‘Stuff’ ? photos, videos, websites ?

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