#75 2 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Project

ByLukas
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Habits are hard to build. But there’s one that’s easy to get used to: starting a new project, then giving up.

Sometimes it’s better not to start at all, so you avoid reinforcing a quitter’s identity: I’ve given up so many times in the past, I’ll probaby give up again.

So how do you know which projects are worth starting?

Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Is this something I really want? Something that’s good for me AND feasible in the short/medium/long term? (Trust of Intention)
  2. Am I prepared to go through a phase where the sole purpose is building a habit without caring about improving or marking much progress? (Trust of Completion)

If the answer to both questions is yes, you’re onto something.

If not, you’re setting yourself up for frustration.

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    #294 The true purpose of goals

    ByLukas

    Goals make you write every day and enjoy the process, even if you’ll never publish a book.

    Goals make you practice yoga and get to know your body, even if you’ll never be able to be in that ultimate pose.

    Goals makes you help someone and learn to give and contribute, even if your help ultimately doesn’t get them to the place they wanted to go.

    Goals don’t predict outcomes. Because the purpose of a goal is not to achieve it, but to set the direction of your life.

    It gives you the fuel to start taking action, and the guidance to make sure that action is intentional.

    I don’t know about you, my friend, but to me, that’s a fulfilling thought.

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    #59 Entity Mindset vs Incremental Mindset

    ByLukas

    Do you believe you’re good at something solely because of talent, invalidating all the work you’re putting in?

    Or do you believe you can change the course of your life, and let your daily actions shape who you are?

    The American psychologist and author of the book “Mindset” Carol Dweck describes how the way you think about your abilities can make or break your success in life:

    • Entity (fixed) mindset: “I’m good at languages, I’m bad at math”
    • Incremental (growth) mindset: “I worked hard on this, I’m learning, I’m discovering how to do this”

    An entity mindset makes you run into a wall

    When things get tough, people with an entity mindset often give up, because they don’t truly believe they can get much better.

    After all,I if you believe it’s all about innate ability, then why make any effort to develop strengths or weaknesses?

    An entity mindset also leads to fear of failure and perfectionism. If you’re believed to have an innate, fixed talent that’s set in stone, you’ll constantly need to live up to an unreasonably high standard for that particular talent.

    An incremental mindset makes you thrive

    People with an incremental mindset, on the other hand, thrive in tough situations: they know that through perseverance and a focus on daily practice and perseverance they can develop their skills and talents.

    Even if predisposition plays an important role, switching to an incremental mindset will always make you feel better about yourself and your daily actions.

    And while education and childhood experiences have a large impact on your mindset – you can always change your mind – by changing your actions.

  • #321 Maintain the momentum

    ByLukas

    You’re likely to encounter consistency challenges.

    After all, nobody feels motivated every day.

    Maybe you’ll have a day where you’re busy or not feeling great, and writing, running, or doing yoga, seems like the last thing you want to do.

    Luckily, you don’t need to feel motivated to write one sentence.

    You don’t even need to want to write to have words appear on the screen or paper.

    You just need to be reminded that you want to be a writer.

    And writers write, even if they don’t feel like it.

    And so it goes for runners, yogis, meditators, athletes, crafstmen, lovers.

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    #290 Your unique contribution

    ByLukas

    What do you see that others don’t even notice?

    What do you feel that others don’t even seem to care about?

    What do you like to do that most others never even entertain?

    What do you write about that most others haven’t even considered?

    And instead of seeing such differences as a societal warning sign, discouraging you from pursuing it…

    Can you see them as an encouraging sign of unique contributions you’re about to make?

    Embrace your individuality.

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