Keep Fighting, Stop Fighting

Half a lifetime ago, I enjoyed taking every “self improvement” workshop I could find, including the infamous “est” training. You know, the one where they wouldn’t let you go to the bathroom? Yeah, that one. I was introduced to it by David Gerrold, who hosted a party at his house showing a videotape of one of the more advanced trainings, something called the “Six Day.” It looked to be held up in Northern California, in a wooded area, and It looked amazing, with zip lines and running and all sorts of stuff in addition to the classroom work. THAT looked right up my alley. But you couldn’t get to it unless you went through the more basic training, so I went.

Very interesting experience, the basic two-weekend class was, but it was just a stepping stone. I did eventually attend the “Six Day” and wow, it really was amazing, and maybe one day I”ll unpack it. But what I’ll say is that, like most things in the Erhardt Seminar Training it was experiential rather than instructional, so it’s hard to nail down the benefits in a way that can be communicated with language. But one little thing comes to mind…

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Maybe day three. It had been a long day of workshops and interaction. Everyone was tired. The course leader had us stand up from our chairs. And then sit down. And then stand up.

And…he KEPT DOING THAT FOR HOURS. I don’t know how long it was. Felt forever. I have no idea how many times we stood and sat. Hundreds, at least. And it was AWFUL. Grueling. We grumbled and almost revolted.