What did I consider the most basic and important gain after passing the Distance?
Assessing the essence of the Distance in terms of its influence on me, I put on the scales, on the one hand, the acquisition of a number of specific skills, and on the other hand, just the only ability to keep the tension while mastering something new. So, I will call the essence of the Distance the honing of this particular skill — the ability to hold tension, I will call the practiced ability to enter the zone of discomfort on your own command, withstand pressure, regulate it and get an effective result: a new model of behavior.
Therefore, for those passing the Distance, I would suggest the following criterion for the quality of work, relevant for all exercises and measured using the following questions:
- What is the level of your tension during the exercise, in the process of introducing it into your life?
- Why is this the level? does it change? how often? in connection with what?
- If the voltage is high, how long can you withstand it? How often do you have maximum stress peaks that knock you out of the rut of a measured and stubborn task? What are you doing to prevent spikes? How does your ability to hold tension change from exercise to exercise?
- How long does it take to keep the exercise under control in order to begin to feel your ability to switch from self-control mode to the autopilot mode of the practiced skill?
- When does it become necessary for a trained skill to switch from autopilot mode to concentration mode?
- What control points do you find for yourself to evaluate the mode suitable for the skill — autopilot or maximum concentration?
As I believe, at the Distance I tested my ability to “take a hit”: I practiced and strengthened this ability so that in later life there would always be an opportunity to draw my own exercises for my own goals and pass them with an obligatory effective result.