Once I heard a famous drummer comment on the sparse attendance to his concert, tongue-in-cheek: “Well, I can't stand crowded places anyway!” And then he delivered an exciting concert with his band-mate on the organ.

At times keeping up with your challenge can become a quite lonely endeavor. Often concentration and focus need you to be by yourself. When you first decided to take on the challenge you were probably excited. Even the deciding and committing stirred excitement and optimism. Just like in all regular activities the newness of the beginning wears off quickly. Suddenly you may realize that there are few people (if any) to share your experiences with.  Feelings of loneliness creep in. You begin fata-morganizing a buddy.

(And no, we are not talking about a software but in-flesh-buddies.)

 

Yet what is a dream to some triggers fear in others. Practice is intimate and to share intimacies of any kind, let alone failures, is not everybody's cup of tea. Some people feel this as a blow to their ego.

 

With whom could I share my discoveries and pitfalls?

Those who can accept the thought that disclosing efforts and experiences could be useful and even fun might want to consider: with whom could I share my discoveries and pitfalls?

It is helpful  to look for someone you trust, preferably someone who faced challenges already or, in the best case, is doing a challenge right now, parallel to your own practice.

Here are 7 reasons to join in the experiences:

1. listening to different angles of practice deepens your own
2. work together can be fun, #1: enthusiasm is contagious, touches the motivational source of the partner
3. work together can be fun, #2: when you work together your pitfalls and shortcomings may serve as a great source of laughter
4. its educational: by understanding the experiences of your buddy you may get new insights into your own course of practicing
5. you may exchange helpful ideas to overcome obstacles
6. shared success (after finishing) is shared celebration is shared joy
7. shared success means you have two reasons for celebration:you both finished your task and shared in the process.