#400 3 lessons from 400 consecutive days of writing (and a request)

ByLukas

Today marks day 400 of the Daily Insight newsletter – which calls for a longer post and a question for you.

Let’s start with three lessons I learned from publishing daily.

Lesson 1: Writing when not you’re not inspired IS the point

I wasn’t inspired every day in the past 400 days – but many days I was.

And I wouldn’t have had the inspiring days without the uninspired days.

Maybe writing when you’re not inspired is the whole point.

Because showing up for the bad moments makes it possible to be there for the good moments, too.

Lesson 2: You don’t have to be ready to get started – you get started to become ready

In the past, I just couldn’t get myself to write, not even if I really wanted to.

Now, I just write.

Doing something new always goes against your current beliefs and always comes with resistance – otherwise, you would already be doing it.

But seeing how tiny daily actions can normalize a behavior that in the past seemed unattainable was incredibly empowering.

You don’t have to be ready to get started. You get started to become ready.

Lesson 3: It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it’s meaningful to you

For the longest time, I felt like I always gave up on things that were important to me. I just couldn’t persevere.

So, I chose to start writing daily. But I could’ve also decided to run every day. Or knit.

In the end, the activity itself doesn’t matter. You can choose any desire you feel resistance towards…

And start using it as a symbol of your defiance against your limiting beliefs.

In its essence, such “Tiny Trust Builder” actions, as I came to call them, are symbolic.

Pick one. Attach meaning to it. Use it to prove to yourself that your aspirations are not just pipe dreams. And see how your life changes.

What’s next?

Maybe it didn’t have to take 400 days to prove to myself that I could write every day – or maybe it did.

Either way, I did it. And now the question arises: what’s next?

To answer that question, I need your help.

Why are you subscribed to this newsletter? What do you get out of it?

Could I do anything to make the newsletter more interesting to you?

Let me know by replying to this email so we can shape the next 400 newsletters together.

Thanks for being along for the journey!

  • Lukas

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  • #212 Your beacon of trust

    ByLukas

    835 days ago, I started writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness journaling every day.

    It’s my one habit where I haven’t missed a single day, but not because I’m afraid I would quit if I skipped a day (I’ve built up enough self-trust and elastic discipline by now).

    Not because I derive so much creative and therapeutic benefit from it either (I do, but skipping a day here and there wouldn’t diminish that benefit).

    None of that would warrant my hardliner habit approach to journaling, my friend. You know I’m more of an elastic discipline guy.

    The real reason I never miss a journaling day is that it was the first habit I ever managed to stick to consistently.

    Because of that, it reminds me that I can change my beliefs, habits, and identity, no matter how hard it seems.

    It reminds me that, on that momentous day in 2021, my identity started shifting from eternal quitter to consistent go-getter.

    It reminds me that actions overrule thoughts.

    In other words: Journaling daily has become a beacon of self-trust.

    And I’ll be eternally grateful for the day I decided to take a pen and put it on the paper.

    I hope you have such a beacon of self-trust in your life.

    And if not, I hope you’ll find or create one soon.

    P.S. Maybe you already have a beacon of trust, but you’re not aware of it.

    After all, the specific activity doesn’t matter.

    You could go for a walk every day. Play the guitar. Learn a new phrase in a new language. Do one pushup.

    Anything that reminds you of the fact that you, too, can do things aligned with who you want to be.

    P.P.S I’m curious… If you have a beacon of self-trust, what is it? Let me know by replying to this Insight!

  • #244 What am I meant to do today

    ByLukas

    “What am I meant to do?” I often wonder.

    You may have the same question on your mind.

    Or maybe you don’t think about it at all, my friend. And perhaps that’s the better choice.

    The search for purpose may not be about finding that one grand mission.

    Maybe it’s about creating tiny ripples of influence right where we are with what we have.

    Maybe the right question is, “What am I meant to do today?”

    That way, we make each day matter in ways big and small.

    Because these are the days we live anyway.

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    #210 How do you know you’re reaching your goal?

    ByLukas

    I could consider myself a writer if I write 20,000 words a day – and I would be right.

    Or I could consider myself a writer if I write one sentence a day – and I would be right.

    I could consider myself a writer if I’ve written a book – and I would be right.

    Or I could consider myself a writer the moment I’ve decided I’m going to be a writer – and I would be right.

    I could consider myself a writer if I’ve built up enough self-trust and taken enough daily actions that prove that I genuinely care about being a writer – and I would be right.

    Whether you’re aware of them or not, you’re using subjective measuring sticks for everything, usually determined by upbringing, culture, and societal pressure.

    But nothing stops you from consciously choosing your measuring sticks (depending on your goals, you could make them easier or more challenging) and setting yourself up for more fulfillment and success.

    Here are some questions that can help:

    When you say you want to be {successful, happy, fulfilled, fit, wealthy}…

    How do you know you’re reaching your goal?

    Is it an achievement?

    A material possession?

    A feeling?

    An action you take?

    A decision you make?

    Choose wisely.

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