"I'm too harsh on myself and then I face a severe backlash, and then it starts all over again. What should I do?"

According to Don Juan - the path must have heart. You cannot always keep your fist clenched; you need to rest. What you describe indicates a lack of mental discipline, so you replace it with a cycle you described well: being overly harsh on yourself, facing a backlash, and then starting over. It's normal))). It's a vicious cycle. What does this cycle look like?

Beginner:

1. First, makes many ineffective efforts.

2. Overexerts, gets tired quickly, falls.

3. Cries, scolds themselves.

4. Gathers strength, forces themselves to keep going, and…

5. Ends with burnout and "Screw it". Back to square one.

6. Rest, recovery, and return to step 1.

This can go on for about 10 years. Well, you get the idea. This is a typical trap for beginners, a dead end where one can get stuck for years. How to escape? Is there still a regular practice?

A regular practitioner does everything rhythmically and calmly. An experienced one doesn't rush, tries not to hurry. Instead of accelerating, an experienced person maintains rhythm and breath. The focus is on doing not a hundred different things, but just one important thing thoroughly.

1. We rush because we are driven by fear and greed. We want to manage everything; we're afraid of being too late. It's a delusion of the mind, as we forget that death is inevitable. Therefore, rhythm starts with calming down - it's not rocket science, no mysticism, Buddhist stuff, or meditations.

2. We just remember what we want, why it's important. The memory should evoke not an idea, but an emotion - it's like waking up.

3. Then we recall our plan and priorities, which means that tasks should be done in a certain sequence. So, we remember this sequence, which leads to understanding why it's important to do this and not that at the moment.

4. Next, we tell ourselves - I will do only this task until it's finished, and not start anything else before that. If the task is big, we break it down into stages. Beginners think they need to do many tasks. I won't even discuss this naive illusion. The principle is - one thing at a time. Until it's done, nothing else is done. This is the only working principle and a guarantee of success.

5. The secret is to learn to do only the task at hand according to the plan and to finish it, not allowing oneself to start the next one until the current task is completed. At first, we are shaken by fear "How can this be?" It's normal.

6. To get rid of fear, it's enough to fully immerse oneself in the task, it doesn't require great effort + eliminate all distractions. Again, tasks with great uncertainty should be broken down into small steps.

7. Once you master this ritual, you'll learn to move steadily, albeit slowly at first, but gradually faster.

8. Speed is not a result of tension or acceleration, but of mastery. Beginners can't understand and accept this. They think: "If I push hard, I will move as quickly as the master." Well, yes, sure! Beginners think they're smarter than those who invented toilet paper, which they use to wipe their asses.