#76 Build Discipline by Starting Small

ByLukas
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The trick to building discipline: stick to your projects more often than you quit, so your actions start overruling self-defeating thoughts.

So how make sure you stick to more of your projects and habits

Make them feasible. Start small.

Write a couple of sentences in your journal every day.

Write short articles.

Walk for 5 minutes.

Do 2 minutes of breathing exercises.

In the long run, you’ll probably have to build up volume and intensity. But first, start small. Build trust of completion. Become disciplined.

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    #15 Being intentional about the questions you ask yourself

    ByLukas

    What you focus on right now, in the present moment, strongly affects your state. Focus on problems, you start worrying. Focus on a pleasant prospect, you start dreaming.

    To manage state by directing focus, you must be intentional about the type of questions you ask to evaluate your experiences in life because whatever questions you ask yourself (and you DO ask yourself evaluating questions all the time, consciously or subconsciously), your brain is constantly coming up with answers for these questions.

    The answers can be accurate or not; that doesn’t matter to your brain. It’ll justify and find answers, reasons, and connections for anything you ask… and through those answers, give meaning to anything that happens to you (and interpret it as painful or pleasurable).

    How to be intentional about the questions you ask yourself:

    1. Eliminate limiting, “endless loop questions” that contain self-defeating presuppositions (like “Why does this always happen to me? Why am I always late? Why do I always give up? Why do I always hurt the people around me?). They’re dangerous because they force your mind to come up with answers: fake or real reasons that justify and perpetuate unhealthy behavior.
    2. Ask yourself empowering questions that challenge your mind to come up with empowering solutions, justifications, reasons:
      1. Empowering presuppositions: Why do I always arrive in time? Why do I always stick to the goals I set for myself? Why am I always kind to myself and others around me?
      2. Questions like “How can I be as helpful as possible? How can I make sure this is going to be a fulfilling, amazing day?”
      3. Questions like “What would the version of me I want to be do or say in this situation?”

  • #67 Caffè sospeso

    ByLukas

    In working-class cafés in Napoli, people who experienced good luck often buy a coffee, then another one “pending”, which the barista can serve to anyone at his own discretion: a caffè sospeso.

    A symbol of social trust and solidarity. Or, in the hands of marketeers and big coffee chains, a tool for increasing sales.

    Regardless, it’s an act minimal enough to not to turn the donor into a hero, and small enough not to affect the receiver’s self-worth.

    If such accessible acts of generosity make the donor feel good, and the receiver of a free coffee too…

    And if it’s something almost everyone can do, not just billionaire philanthropists…

    It’s an initiative worth spreading. Maybe not only for coffee.

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    #147 Purposeful Passion vs Compulsive Addiction

    ByLukas

    Working on your business so hard you neglect your health – and end up in bed with a burnout.

    Being so absorbed with selflessly helping others you forget to set boundaries – and end up drained and resentful.

    Being so focused on the practice your neglect your friends and family – and you end up lonely.

    The line between purposeful passion and compulsive addiction is thin.

    This is where trust building comes in.

    Building trust in your intentions – so you verify that your actions benefit you and your environment.

    Building trust in your self-awareness – so you notice when you cross over in compulsive obsession space, and pull yourself back into purposeful passion territory.

    Building trust in the people around you – so you listen to them when they see you’re slipping, and you let them help you get back on the right path.

    Trust is a beacon of light, keeping you on track.

    What will you do today to protect and fuel it?

    Tiny Trust Builders.

  • #394 Remind yourself of the future

    ByLukas

    There is no way to predict the future.

    But thinking about where you would like to be in the future can help you make better decisions today.

    Want to be a writer in the future? Better write today.

    Want to run a marathon? Better run today (or eat better, or rest, or stretch…)

    Remind yourself of the future, not for the sake of precise predictions, but for the sake of the present.

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