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  • #341 Think smaller

    If doing your Tiny Trust Builder feels impossible today, it’s not tiny enough.

    Write one paragraph, not one blog post.

    Write one sentence, not one paragraph.

    Write one word, not one sentence.

    Write one letter, not one word.

    Write whatever feels achievable to you, until you arrive at something you can do every day.

    Think smaller, until you notice the insurmountable suddenly feels achievable.

  • #315 You don’t have a shot at getting results yet

    Most habits are hard to stick to because they promise not only a positive lifestyle change but also instant results.

    But worrying about building a habit and getting results at the same time leads to frustration and, ultimately, failure – after all, when building a habit, showing up every day is already hard enough.

    First, you must learn to trust that you can show up every day, even if you don’t see improvement right away.

    Only then do you get a shot at getting results.

    The key is in the power of tiny actions, consistently taken.

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    #85 Habit Containers

    If I start learning a new language, I don’t aim to be good.

    My only goal: integrate a daily language learning habit into my day, as a habit container, without much regard for progress.

    Only when the habit container is in place, and I have built trust of completion (“Now I am the person who spends some time learning a language every single day”), the question becomes: which activities will build my skills most quickly?

    I could use my language learning habit container to learn a word a day – but that won’t help me much when speaking.

    Within the exact same habit container, I could also learn a chunk a day (a phrase), which I can use in conversations right away. Same habit container, same time investment, but better results.

    Within my “writing habit container”, I can write something in a private notebook every day – which is an excellent habit.

    But within that same container, I could also start publishing a short article every day. That changes the game.

    Don’t try to be good when building the habit. First build the habit container. Once it’s in place, you can start optimizing the actions you take within that container.

    First build trust in completion. Then build trust in skill.

    In other words: first I become good at learning a language every day. Then I become good at learning a language.

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    #222 Today is your lucky day

    Today is your lucky day, my friend.
    Or at least, it could be, depending on how you interpret what will happen.

    Today is your worst day ever, my friend.
    Or at least, it could be, depending on how you interpret what will happen.

    The choice is yours. It has always been.

    P.S. I don’t know about you, but weirdly enough, being able to decide over your luck didn’t feel like a relief to me at first.

    That’s a good topic for another day…

One Comment

  1. This is such a great insight for those who are naturally competitive and are afraid to try things because they are afraid they can’t win! That “must win” attitude can spoil an activity for the whole group. Thanks for saying it so clearly!!

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