Pure Writerly Moments 2 (Short Stories, Essays, Book Reviews, and More)

On Gumption Traps

What is a gumption trap?

I asked Google Bard and it wrote back: "A gumption trap is a loss of enthusiasm or initiative that you experience when you feel stuck in a project. It can be caused by a variety of factors, such as setbacks, obstacles, or simply feeling overwhelmed. Gumption traps can derail our progress and prevent us from achieving our goals". (I also asked if I was handsome. It wrote back: "I cannot tell you if you are handsome or not. I have never seen you before. I can only tell you that beauty is subjective and what one person finds attractive, another person may not. There is no one definition of handsome.")

I remember first hearing about gumption traps when I was reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

The book is so many things - philosophical novel, travel book, mental health story. The book follows the narrator and his son on a cross-country motorcycle trip, during which the narrator reflects on his past experiences.

However, the book aims to be a guide to living a good/quality life.

Since reading the book (2017), I've been reflecting on my own progress and lack of progress.

There are many things that make me feel 'stuck' in my life: my inability to get a literary agent or place a short story in a literary magazine; my non-existent dating life; my inability to lose weight; and...probably not as important, my inability to project the same optimism I once did in my youth.

Focusing on these aspects of my life - the ones I'm stuck on - is, of course, one way to get stuck and lose your gumption.

One way out of the trap is to stop dwelling and start moving! 

The Bard AI also provides some of the usual tips:

Set realistic goals.

Take breaks. 

Celebrate your successes. 

Ask for help. 

To these tips I would add these suggestions. 

Wait for the "wheel"! This comes from the TV show "Farscape." At a crucial moment in the series, John Crichton, the series protagonist, says, "My grandmother used to say that life is this great wheel. Sometimes it grinds you down into the mud and sometimes it lifts you up into the light...wait for the wheel." I have found this to be true! An opportunity often comes, just later than you would like and sometimes in unexpected forms.  

Work on other projects. While you are waiting for the wheel, work on other (hopefully small) projects. Keep your mind, body, and skills sharp. 

Nassim Nicholas Taleb says: Barbell. What does it mean to barbell? Hedge risky bets with many very conservative ones. Mix very hard, intensive, time-consuming projects with short, fun, easy ones. And...learn how to apply the barbell principle better over time. 

Offer help to others. Even if there is no such thing as karma, you will still be putting good into the universe. 

What is the final lesson that gumption traps teach us? Perhaps the best lesson of all... we all need to keep finding better ways to struggle well. If challenges were easy, they wouldn't be challenges. Your challenges are the tools you use to build a better you. So cherish them, even when you feel stuck.