The Syncope of Life

A Scientific Way to Embrace the Unknown

Venture into the Unknown

Syncope is a musical term meaning unexpected deviation from a set rhythm. It is typically characteristic of jazz.

In life, we can jazz in a figurative sense. It means to deviate from our routine and thus embrace new twists of fate.

Syncope in life is of two kinds. First is inspired by higher forces. E.g. your 12 y. old child unexpectedly flees from home and goes to the sea. You follow him and after you find him there spend the night in town.

This, as it happens, was where she met her husband-to-be. It is a true story which happened to mom of Stasys Povilaitis, an iconic Lithuanian singer…

Another case in point. You reluctantly agree to accept a translation job which everyone shuns. Only to find out that it was the beginning of a great long-term business relationship.

It would never have happened were it not for consent to translate on seemingly especially unfavorable terms that no one wanted. It happened to us more than once or twice.

To be noticed as a musician, you must be open to experiment.

Still, it is way better to opt for the other kind of syncope, i.e. to jazz voluntarily. It means not waiting until fate forces surprises on you but opening yourself regularly to deviate from the usual habits. The impact of such voluntary jazz is the flexibility of mind.

Here’s the kicker. More often than not, we receive the best things in life after we do something unexpected. This idea hardly requires proof. It is conventional wisdom that if you stick to the old ways, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. If that is the case, the opposite is equally true — exciting things are to be found when we venture into unchartered territories.

Please also read on a new approach to effective marketing: No Place for Belles Lettres in Marketing?..

I do exactly that as I write this article for the English-speaking audience. This is not my native language and, believe it or not, no one appointed me to go international. But new opportunities are to be found by doing something entirely new. By embracing the syncope of life, that is.

Let me share what gave me the confidence to begin as an international blogger. Hope it will be interesting to some readers. Believe it or not, there is a scientific way to embrace the unknown. This strategy was developed by The Michael Method, an educational project based in Jerusalem, Israel. They teach about the stages of experience when we embrace new activities. Michael provides a proper perspective on what is to be gained by developing new skills. And most importantly, they give you real practical experience to prove that not only you can master new skills but how much you improve as a result. For example, they give you a memory test. Out of 15 random words listed, people would typically remember 5 to 7. Then they teach you a simple technique to memorize information. After that, you are able to memorize 12–15 words in the same amount of time.

Teachers of this method call it the Michael Experience (or the Michael Process as the totality of these experiences). Graduates of the Michael training often refer to it as an inordinate gift. As the result of a week’s training people acquire confidence and courage to learn any new skills and remain confident in unknown situations. For example, despite my humanitarian upbringing, I mastered within several months basic home renovation skills: to paint walls, to lay floors and tiles, set up bathroom equipment, etc.

Participants of the Michael training on how it impacted them:

After that, I took to learn filming and video editing, Photoshop; then transitioned to video effects and motion graphics. Not only that, I also learned social media marketing (FB, Google and YT ads) and even to build websites. Now I am into SEO.

Menny Barzilai, head of the Michael Method, sums up what they are up to as follows: ‘Michael removes for you obstacles to succeed’. Whenever there is something to learn or find a way, the Michael experience will make you confident to embrace the changes and thrive in unchartered territories.

Now you may be wondering where you could get this experience. I cannot speak for other countries — for that please inquire Michael’s head office. In Lithuania, there is a local franchise to be found at michaelis.lt.

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This article summarizes the 11th episode of Tiško kanaliukas, a social content video produced by the language service Magistrai based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Magistrai create texts with a focus on rhetoric. This enhances the impact of the message and helps clients introduce themselves strongly in situations where it matters most. For more please check our language services.