I knew a wrestler in college who would throw trashcans, chairs and tables after he lost. And then he would do the unthinkable. He would beat his own head against a wall.
The coaches stayed out of his way when he did this. So did his teammates. Even his family.
Everyone gave him space and let him go nuts. And after a few minutes, he would cool off and be seemingly alright.
The good news is this wrestler hardly ever lost, so we didn’t need to observe his tantrums too often. And although I would never recommend this guy’s exact methods to anyone as a way to deal with defeat, I do recommend other methods of “blowing off steam.”
Dr. Maltz wrote about blowing off steam in Psycho-Cybernetics, recounting how he watched the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, do just that. Every hour on the hour, approximately, Old Faithful blows out the excess steam brewing beneath the surface. Maltz concluded that this blowing off of steam was not only a good practice for human beings, but a vitally important one.
We need outlets for the pent-up energy we feel inside. And most of the time, the quickest, fastest and smartest way to “let it out” is by engaging in something physical. You go for a run. You put on the gloves and punch the heavy bag. You do some pushups, squats or pull-ups. You skip rope, or climb one. You take out a pen and record your thoughts in a journal, preferably in cursive, wherein your brain-body are fully engaged.
One of my favorite exercises is cracking a bullwhip. But I don’t do it just to blow off steam. Most of the time I do it to give myself a mind-body reset that is almost instantaneous.
There is something primal about holding a flimsy, coiled piece of leather in your hands and exerting just enough force to make the thing break the sound barrier. If you use too much force, the whip will not crack. And if you try harder, giving it more than before, you will fail even faster. You might also injure yourself.
In order to make the whip crack and break the sound barrier (767 mph), you have to do the opposite of what you think. Try to crack the whip with more muscle and more speed and you’ll come up dry but not high.
So you have to learn self-control, mind-control and body-control.
The self-control aspect is recognizing when you are over-motivated*. This is when you want to make the whip crack so much that you get in your own way.
The mind-control aspect is regulating your mental imagery, feel and self-talk. You see the whip cracking effortlessly. You see your body making it happen by using less effort, not more. You cancel out all the “harder, harder” thinking you may have playing inside your head.
The body-control aspect is learning how to align your body in such a way that the whip seems to crack itself. This body control is learned by finding out the answers to questions such as:
Where are your feet positioned? Where and how do you grab the whip? Where do you keep your elbow throughout the motion? How much force is just enough to crack the whip, how much isn’t enough, and how much is too much?
Let me tell you something that still stuns me to this day. I get up in the morning and if I’m feeling a bit groggy, a bit out of it, I can fix that in less than 90 seconds. I walk outside, grab my whip, crack it 10 times on the right side, then switch to the left and crack it 10 more times. And all is well.
My brain and nervous system relish the sound of one hand cracking.
As far as I’m concerned, cracking a whip solves the Zen koan, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” But not with words. With mind-body action.
How often do you need to blow off steam?
Everyday.
How many times per day?
That depends. Once a day is good for a lot of people. But if you’re similar to Old Faithful, you might need to do something physical three or more times per day.
And by the way, mowing the lawn, working in the garden, pruning trees, sawing and chopping wood, raking leaves, mopping the floor, doing the dishes by hand, and so on, are all valid ways to blow off steam.
Just keep in mind what all of the above activities have in common?
ALL OF THEM REQUIRE YOU TO USE YOUR HANDS.
Your hands are deeply connected to your brain and nervous system.
Note: There are more nerve endings in your hands connected to your brain than any other area of the body. Your feet come in second.
So the biggest and best key to blowing off steam is not pounding your head against a wall. It is actively using your hands (and feet). Get the hands and feet engaged and you’ll be astonished by the good it does you.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
Psycho-Cybernetics.com
* The term “over-motivation” was used by Dr. Maltz in Psycho-Cybernetics numerous times.
