3-2-1: On Why Hard Work Is Holding You Back, Comparison Is Deceiving, And Lying To Yourself Is Good For You
Wisdom Wednesday #25
Hey fam,
Last week I spent several hours drafting up a Wisdom Wednesday for you but I couldn’t get any of the ideas to collapse properly and had to cut publishing due to my limited schedule right now.
I’ve scrapped the last issue and started fresh with a brand new one (which was much more amenable to being communicated).
Here's 3 ideas from me, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you to mull over this week.
3 Ideas From Me:
I.
You're trying too hard and wasting your all energy.
There is a law of diminishing returns for how much time and energy actually improves things vs what just burns away in to the ether.
We all get that watering a plant ten times a day will not make it grow any faster, or that peddling down a hill won't make us bike any faster, but we somehow think that berating ourselves for mistakes will make us grow faster or that never taking a break will achieve our goals faster.
In reality, these not only don’t help, but are often counterproductive, slowing us down.
For the most efficient progress: practice being okay with "good enough" and letting time do its magic. You will find that you unlock twice as much energy for equal if not better results.
II.
If you insist on comparing yourself to others, at least compare everything.
When we compare ourselves to others, we tend to compare our weaknesses to their strengths and completely ignore the strengths we have that they don't.
It's never actually "us vs them", instead "us vs some platonic ideal form of us that has all our strengths and all their strengths with none of the weaknesses" simply masquarading as "us vs them".
If you must compare, at least do it objectively: factor in all the strengths that come just as easily to you as the ones you envy in others. With all the trade offs considered, you will quickly realize that "if only I was more like so and so" isn't all it's cracked up to be.
III.
Procrastination tip: pair difficult or boring tasks with easy or fun tasks.
Don't want to clean the house? Allow yourself to listen to your favorite podcast while doing it.
Don't want to read this book? Listen to it while you go on a lovely bike ride.
Doing them together is ideal, but using positive tasks as rewards afterwards works too.
Save up your favorite tasks so you have something in the chamber to earn or pair when you must do something difficult.
2 Quotes From Others:
I.
Former Heavyweight boxer now best selling author, Ed Latimore, on effective thoughts VS true thoughts:
If you can tell yourself a lie that gets you to take action, it's more useful than a thousand truths that say why you won't succeed.
Source: Ed Latimore
II.
Coach and entrepreneur, Chiara Mazzucco, with a thought provoking definition of work:
Sometimes work looks like 60 hour weeks. Other times it looks like facing your demons.
Source: Bold Leap Live
1 Question For You:
And finally, here’s one question to ponder this week:
Am I doing this because it will gain me something I want or because I fear i'll lose something if I don't?
That's all for today!
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Catch you next time,
Matt