Access Theory
Life is about experience, but you begin it with nothing. Every new experience, however, brings the freedom to do what was once the unknown again without fear. New experiences bring access to the fruits of the experience. Meeting a new friend in a different city gives access to that city. The experience of meeting a once unknown person provides access to them. Going to a new school is a leap into the unknown. A student learns from the experience, then ultimately gains access to the fruits of it, such as jobs only accessible from the obtained degree, friends met along the way, or the independence of living on their own for the first time. Without undertaking the experience of school, its fruits would never have been accessible. Travel is another example of access theory. Before travelling to an unknown city or country, the common feeling is a tinge of fear with some excitement and general anxiety. Such is the effect of the unknown. Once the city or country is experienced, is seen with your own eyes, you gain immediate access to the place for the rest of your life. In visiting it again, you will not feel the fear you felt in travelling to it the first time. Fear, then, is due to the unknown; so without fear, there is no unknown. Without the unknown, there is access. The intermediary between both ends is experience, the path one must take from the unknown to access.
It may seem that the enemy of access is routine–the habit of never trying something new. While this may be the case for some, the truth is that access can be gained in any circumstance. Access is as available to a desk worker as it is to a traveller. In working a 9-5, for instance, an individual can learn a new instrument after work, explore unfamiliar corners in their city, or simply enjoy a new restaurant. Gaining access does not have to be a difficult experience as it is captured by all of human activity. It does not demand grand gestures as it can be as simple as small acts of curiosity. Each new activity, person met, or place seen is a journey from unknown to access. It can be done sitting at one’s desk, at a tree, or in a distant land. We gain access constantly, often without realizing it. After all, life is an experiential journey, and access is its gift; embracing it is the task of every individual.
The distinctive aspect of access theory is that each journey between the poles of the unknown and access emboldens the next, making it ever so slightly easier to step into the next unknown, whatever it may be. This sense of emboldenness is, simply put, confidence. This growth of confidence is exponential. The more one confronts the unknown, the more confidence they gain in approaching it. This exponential furtherance of approaching the unknown flips the path: by gaining access → you more confidently experience → the unknown. Experience is the bridge, and each crossing strengthens the traveller. Life becomes less a source of fear and more a reality to be experienced. As Søren Kierkegaard famously said, “The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve but a reality to experience.”
The principles of Access Theory is not a new idea but an ancient way of life. The pursuit of the unknown embodies the Japanese practice of Misogi (禊), a ritual of purification through hardship. Traditionally, practitioners would endure cold-water immersion, fasting, or other difficult ordeals to cleanse the spirit and renew resolve. In essence, Misogi is the intentional crossing from the unknown into access. Each act of Misogi renews the individual’s confidence to meet the next unknown. In today’s modern world, popularized by Dr. Marcus Elliot, Misogi has come to mean challenging oneself to do what once seemed impossible. It is to experience something really difficult every year and emerge stronger for the next unknown.
As you experience more, and actively chase it, the resultant effect is that fear goes down as confidence goes up. Access feeds back into experience, dissolving the fear that once defined the unknown. Indeed, fear will never disappear, even the most confident among us feel it, but fear’s hold on us may lessen to the point where we can look it in the eyes and dance with it. In the end, life is about access: the more one has, the smaller the world becomes and the more they will feel they can do. This addictive cycle becomes the engine that fuels a fulfilling life. It all starts with doing something new and doing it to experience it. To experience love, life, nature, mountains, the ocean, the sky, food, laughs, people, places, and everything this world has to offer. It’s all there, waiting to be experienced.
Stage 1: Confrontation with the unknown → fear
Stage 2: Experience → transformation
Stage 3: Access → confidence → expanded capacity for unknown
UNKNOWN → EXPERIENCE → ACCESS
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