The Principles of Progression

Hey, don’t you think it’s about time you got good? Aren’t you tired of being confused and
embarrassed? If you’re not yet, I am for you. Let’s step it up. Many of you have set goals. Many
have started working on them. Many of you have done neither. If you’re in the last category, fret
not - Father Jam will guide you as well. As you move towards your goal, you’re likely
experiencing a lot of ups and downs. Sure, this is a necessary part of the process, but you’re also
likely shooting yourself in the foot. Moving forward with a bullet in your foot is always harder
than not. I don’t recommend it. Now that you know better - do better: put the gun down, get your
foot patched, and let’s try something else. Now that you’re healthy - at least physically - how do
we prevent a repeat? How can we prevent another self-destructive session? The answer is
actually quite simple: learn and understand the ‘Principles of progress’ or POPS for short. These
clarify how to pleasurably progress at anything. This simple article will help you guys progress
faster with less hassle and bullets wounds.

Progress is, “a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal)”. As always, we

can’t begin an article without defining what we’re discussing, and who better to bring clarity
than our good friend Merriam Webster. That said, let’s get straight into changing your life.

The first of the four is the principle of ignorance: This states that you don’t know what you don’t
know. If you aren’t where you want to be, it means you aren’t thinking and acting in ways that
produce that outcome. In other words, if you aren’t getting the results you desire in Pokémon or
otherwise, you need to adjust something. Understand that you don’t know everything about
anything: There is always more room for improvement. This is the foundation of progress
because it keeps you seeking. A person who violates this principle assumes they know it all, and
because they know it all, they are closed to learning. The truth is, you’re either getting better or
worse. Therefore, to stop seeking is to willingly regress. One does not need to look far for people
who violate this principle. You will find a thousand men seeking to speak for every man seeking
to listen. Learning is good, in case you forgot. Often, you need to lose to learn. Therefore, losing
is good. The realization of ignorance is the pathway to wisdom. Golden buddha quotes aside -
you’re not all that: calm down and be willing to learn.

The second is the principle of equivalent exchange: This states that you get out what you put in.
This is nothing new, but how many of us actually take this seriously? How many times have you
started something at the beginning of the year, only to quit two weeks later? That belly isn’t
going to lose itself. It’s no different in Pokémon. Your results are determined by the quantity
and quality of effort you put in.
 People assume they only need to put effort into their actions, but this is not true. Energy also
needs to be put into having the correct attitude. How many times have you tried jumping off a
building? Zero? Why? “Well, genius, I don’t want to die.” Ok, brainiac. So, you know that if
you jump you won’t float up: You know, it’s a guarantee that you will fall towards the earth
because of the law of gravity. In the same way, gravity is a law, so is equivalent exchange. If
you have the correct attitude/thoughts/mindset and are practicing the right actions consistently:
you must get results equal to this.
In baking their cakes of success, people put in tons of effortful action. They then mess up by
adding large scoops of poor attitude mixed with pessimism and top it all off, with sprinkles of
excuses and inconsistency. Then they wonder why their cakes taste like bleep. Afterward, they
claim that a particular course of action is not fruitful. That’s like running a treadmill while
eating a box of donuts. You aim to improve, but simultaneously say, "I suck."; "I'll never win.";
"The game is trash." I don’t what planet you’re living on buddy, but on earth, that won’t cut it.
When you hop into a battle, give your best effort of action and attitude. Put the donuts away....
ok maybe you can keep one.

The third is the principle of relativity: Only compare yourself to your previous results; never use
another person as a means of comparison. In Pokémon and Life, several factors determine a
person’s results. You will never know many of these factors, so it is unproductive to use look at
the surface and draw conclusions. A person may be rich but suffer from depression, while you’re
not and mentally healthy. You may believe if you had what they have you’d be happy, but you
can’t know the full story. This causes you to focus on what you lack rather than what you have.
So, when you get what you thought you wanted, you’ll simply find a new flaw. Why? Because
you’ve made a habit of looking for flaws. Comparing yourself to another does not serve you.
The only reliable means of comparison is your previous self. This is good because you can
always get better. There is no way to accurately assess the factors that go into your potential. If
practiced, this frees you of a lot of internal baggage because you decide whether to go forward
and at what pace. So rather than barraging yourself with insults after every mistake, start treating
yourself like your dog.... with some respect and love. If you mess up, ok? Everyone messes up.
No one is perfect. Forgive yourself and give it your best. Understand that every effort towards
your outcome is a win. Every. Single. One. Got it? Now go tell yourself you’re pretty, and move
on to the next principle.
Last is the principle of now: This law states that the current battle is the most important. The
speed of your progress is dependent on how you play the present game. This is not meant to put
pressure on players.
The outcome of the game is less important than how it was played. If you’re so focused on the
goal, that you reduce the present to a means to an end, then it’s unlikely you will enjoy it.
Remember, the future you desire is determined by how you play now: How you treat the present
moment will determine your future. I went over this in “How Pokémon can help depression”, so
I won't rehash it here.
You’re regressing if you say things like, “Eh, I'll goof off.”; “Eh, I already get this.”; “Eh, at
least I'm doing better than the guys below me.” This assumes that violating the principles has no
impact, but it does. Remember, you get out what you put in. If you’re playing to goof off, fine
but put in the effort when you're practicing. I’m sure Tiger Woods has friendly golf games from
time to time, but during practice he's laser-focused.

Now, let’s paint a picture: Harry is thinking about finding a battle. He watched a few videos
from Mrjamvad and decided he’d give it a go. As he’s about to find his first battle, he notices
that his palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on his sweater already,
mom’s spaghetti - he’s nervous. So, that’s happening.
Why though? Does Harry love relishing in the smell of his puke? I hope not, and if so, get help.
It’s more likely that he’s afraid of losing. To him, a loss is bad and painful. It means he a lot of
bad things about him as a person. This is not conscious of course, but emotions will always tell
the true story. That said, he decides to still find a battle. At the start, he decides to put a twist on
MrJamvad’s advice because he knows better.
Ten turns in: He has lost half his team and is about to get swept. He then says, “This advice
doesn’t work!”; “This metagame sucks!”; “I’ll never be as good as the top ladder players, so
what's the point!” He closes the game and quits. He concludes that, “I’m not having fun because
I’m no good and the information doesn’t work for me”. Harry then proceeds to find something to
help him forget about his low self-regard while hoping one-day things will change.

Let’s introduce another player. Chase is thinking about finding a battle because he wants to
improve his rank. He feels identical to Harry, but quickly says to himself, “Losing is good. I’ll
win or I'll learn!” then clicks find battle. At the start, he finds himself wanting to do what he’s
always done but ignores the urge. He does his best to follow Mrjamvad’s advice while saying to
himself, “If I knew what to do, I'd have the results.” This was a punch to his ego, but he knew it
was for the greater good. Ten turns into the battle, he lost half his team and is about to get swept.
He begins to think, “Damn it! I’ll never...” but stops himself. He reminds himself, “I will get out
what I put in."; "If I quit now, I’ll go backward.” So, he gave his best effort till the end and
managed to kill a few Pokémon before he lost. After the battle, he felt down and defeated, but he
decided to still follow the process. He asked himself, “What did I learn and what did he do
well?” After completing this, the loss didn’t feel so bad. Instead, he felt more empowered and
proceeded to find another battle.

Which of these players has the brighter future? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to answer this.
Both players have the potential, but one is more aligned with the principles of progress. One will
stumble around wondering why things never change, while the other will achieve his goals and
have a better quality of life. It’s no accident.
Now, reflect on your situation. What principles have you been violating? After finding the
answer, slowly start applying them. This is a race between you and you. You’ll only get out what
you put in, and the time to start is now. If you disagree, ok. After all, you are the all-knowing
one, so thanks for indulging me. For everyone else, Go Find a Battle.