Quarantine season. Figured I'd come back to this blog for a bit. Writing due to excess time is both a blessing and a curse. If you're careful, there could be a lack of urgency, and then what good is writing at all?
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Genius. I recently watched a film called Senna about a formula-1 race-car driver who was one of the greatest of all time. The documentary showed many sides of him. The humanitarian. The icon. The wunderkind. The egoist. But there's one aspect of his genius that kind of stuck with me throughout the film.
One line actually, that made all the difference between him and the rest. He said something along the lines of "we are drivers, if we see a gap, we go through it. Even if it doesn't exist, we have to try."
This got me thinking. About this gap, which is so apparent in racing, and maybe less apparent in real life. This ability to see into negative space. Maybe this is a sign of genius which isn't often talked about.
People always say things like, "look at the bright side of things", but don't give any technique to do so. I'm guilty of this myself. I'm a pretty positive guy, with no real problems to write home about. Me trying to pep talk a chronic depressive is like convincing a Chinese man to speak English, not only are we communicating in two completely different languages, he doesn't even understand the end goal!
So how do you resolve this? I think you have to be willing to be receptive to opportunities that other people can't see, that even you can't see, but can feel. I think this is genius; a sixth sense that you feel and act on.
Seeing the archival footage of Senna racing, it is obvious he was not God. He was an incredible driver, but even he had gaps that he couldn't push through. But the important part is that he tried. He believed in his ability, and kept believing in it even after he failed. I think this is what is meant when people say "be positive". You relentlessly pursue your genius until you finally become one.
Of course, the "right move" is much easier to see in sports than in this game of life that we all play. That's because the game ends when the last point is scored, but win or lose, life goes on. You would win a million dollars in the lottery and get bit by a cobra and die tomorrow. But you have to anticipate in this negative space around you, which degree of acceleration will give you maximum reward?
And of course, reward is also based on perspective. You could define it as money, character, body etc.
I think, however, that the real trick to pursuing this genius is priming yourself towards your desires, really visualizing them. For instance, not just working towards having money, but visualizing yourself as someone who is already wealthy. It can make a huge impact.
Senna was a multi-faceted man. He understood, (and this is probably what I liked the most about him), that his being the best in racing was making him a better man. That little by little, he was polishing parts of his character as he won the really tough races. Pure racing was achieving purity as a human being, something that is virtually impossible outside of the scope of a sport, or a game.
Maybe, like him, we can all learn to game-ify life such that everything is once again "pure". Sometimes, I find myself forgetting that that's what this is all about anyways. Winning the game of life just involves doing what fulfills you, and giving a chance for others to do so as well.
I might not follow racing, but after the documentary, I'm definitely a fan. Cheers to you Senna! Au revoir!
