START – R(esolution)
Resolution
The usefulness of any self-improvement or other tool for the acquisition of a skill (language proficiency, musical ability, athletic performance, etc.) depends on how well and how often it is used.
The same principle applies to the Intrinsic Practice. The Intrinsic Practice could be useful for enhancing one’s ability to experience happiness when its method is followed and its tools are used properly and with the necessary repetition. This requires a solid commitment to learning the Practice’s method and tools, and to using them often and for sufficiently long periods of time.
Thus, it is useful to reflect on the level of commitment required before carrying on with the method and tools of the Intrinsic Practice. If you are committed, it is then best to make a written resolution with yourself that describes in some detail what you have committed to do and for how long. To compose your written resolution, you may use this template and add to it as you wish:
“I hereby make a resolution to invest sufficient time, effort and persistence to learn the method and tools of the Intrinsic Practice. For the next ___ months, I will dedicate at least 10 minutes a day and an additional 30 minutes a week to the Intrinsic Practice. I will then re-evaluate the usefulness of the Intrinsic Practice and decide to renew or not renew my resolution to invest time, effort and persistence in it.”
If you have made and signed such a resolution, you are now ready to tackle the fifth and last prerequisite: Thoughtfulness.