Best practice is YOUR practice
N1, the study of the number of one participant, that participant being yourself. And the research project is being run by YOU.
In his blockbuster book The Brain's Way of Healing, neuroscientist Norman Doidge quotes ANOTHER neuroscientist, Vilayanur S Ramachandra, who said; “Imagine I cart a pig into your living room and tell you that it can talk. You might say, ‘Oh really? Show me.’ I then wave my wand and the pig starts talking. You might respond, ‘My God! That's amazing!’ You are not likely to say, ‘Ah, but that's just one pig. Show me a few more and then I might believe you”. So, would you spend time looking for more pigs or study the pig that has shown you that the impossible might now be possible? Here lies the premise of N1.
What is liberated here is not a cowboy of science seeking to undermine the institution but rather honour it in it's essence - curiosity and questioning. This is N1 in a nutshell. The lense that if you make hundreds of observations about a few people or just one, yourself, N1. As opposed to a few observations about many people—a population. What can be profound in the crossroads of science of populations of N475 (475 participants) is your study and understanding of yourself.
Inner Toolbox for N1:
1) the more things change the more things stay the same - there is a constant part of you that has been there from early years, who you were when it was hard & tricky, to now, taking the time to time to figure what part of you that is anchoring in health & life decisions;
2) observe yourself without judgement - autopilot is healthy, to a degree... until we get stuck. Where do you spend most of your time, who do you spend most of your time with, how is your energy impacted over a day.
3) self awareness - what drives my actions? what drives my thoughts? what is it like to be around me? what of these things is in my control?
4) ask "if you were a project what would you do to look after yourself?" (quote from Lisa Stephenson- The Coach Place Global
5) when you have realisations say them outloud - we are profound at bullshitting ourselves. It's hard to repeat things that are self sabotaging when you say them outloud, even to yourself. Often we pursue health goals as a means of bettering ourselves as if there is something wrong. But what if we pursue nutrition choices because it helps clarify our thinking. What if we persisted with savasana because I say I want more composure & better blood pressure & there is no more room for bullshitting. What if I did strength training because my independence to walk with shopping bags into my 80s matters to me. What if we treat them less as a function of self improvement and more as a factor of the person we intend to show up as. N1 looks at if I do one thing consistently - what are the & chain reactions and do I want them to happen again. Yes = repeat, minimise barriers & plan to repeat. No = change.