There comes a time where you feel stuck and taking the next step seems impossible when you’re weighed down with all the intricate complications. Finding yourself in a situation like this, where you don’t know what to do, is terribly overwhelming; that’s why I use my caveman method.
All I ask of you is to use your imagination, stay with me now. Sometimes, situations can become messy due to modern implications which we are so conditioned to because that is our reality – that is our present.
Undoubtedly, people have been experiencing tricky situations since the beginning of time. I’m talking millions of years ago; think ooga booga times. Though, I think it’s safe to say their problems were a lot more life threatening; think being hunted by a sabretooth tiger.
The caveman method requires you to step outside of your reality, just for a moment, to reconfigure a situation and break it down into its most simplest form.
For instance, let’s say you have a passion for singing and you landed a gig at the local pub. Though this is an opportunity you really wanted, you can’t help but feel anxious. This anxiety is now making you not want to go because of all the things that are tied to it – where will you set up the mic? Who will be there? What will you sing?
Now, let’s apply the caveman method to this scenario: You are a simple caveman sat in your cave. In one hand, you hold a stick with which you poke at a roaring fire. In the other hand, you hold a rock. What are you doing with this rock? I have no clue, you’re the one holding it.
As you’re so distracted by the rock, the stick has caught alight and burns your finger. Ouch. You let out a harmonic wail, throwing both rock and stick to the ground. And you’re shocked, because your wail sounded a bit like a G# and the rock hitting the cave floor kinda had a beat to it. You find that you have a passion for singing and you want to share this with others. Down by the river, a little walk away from your cave is where other cavemen gather to drink, so you grab your rock with intent to go share your discovery.
In both versions, the centre of the scenario was you sharing your passion.
The anxiety ridden act of performing in front of others was layered with questions that are better answered by just doing. By using my method, you extract the simplicity that stands at the core of your situation. It’s never too deep when you’re a caveman, unless it’s that prowling sabretooth.
It’s helped me to tune into such a simplistic perspective of things, as if drawing them out on a blank page. Apply the caveman method for yourself; start from scratch, just for a moment, to reconfigure your chosen situation as if it were the beginning of time.
All art by the stunning Jamie Easby.