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    #117 The quest for (average) ideas

    Talking about “good and bad ideas” implies a ranking. Good, compared to what? Bad, compared to what?

    The truth is that most ideas you produce will be average – because there is no other way.

    Not all ideas can be your best idea – and if they are, they will soon be replaced by a better idea. Your previous best idea has now become average.

    Not all ideas can be your worst idea either. And if they are, they will soon be replaced by an even worse idea. Your worst idea has now become average.

    This dynamic matters. Because if you produce an idea a day, compared to someone producing one idea a month, your chances of replacing your current best idea with something better are much higher.

    You’ll also likely replace your current worst idea with something even worse – and that’s fine. You’re increasing amplitude in both directions. It’s all part of the practice.

    The more ideas you have, the bigger your sample size. The more elaborate the ranking. The better the good ideas. The worse the bad ideas.

    All this to say: bad, average, and good ideas ALL stack the odds of striking gold in your favor. What matters is that you show up and generate ideas.

  • #151 Habit hardliners vs Elastic Discipline

    If I don’t meditate today, will I ever become a consistent practitioner?

    If I don’t go for that run today, will I ever become a runner?

    If I don’t stick to my diet today, will I ever get in shape?

    There’s a time and place for being a hardliner about your habits – the first 30-45 days when the naysayer voice in your head still says, “let’s see how long it takes before I give up again.”

    After all, you’re building a new identity and will still be pulled back towards your old ways.

    But at some point, hardliners need to make the switch to “elastic discipline“:

    Being disciplined about your daily practice while trusting yourself enough that when life inevitably puts you in a situation where you HAVE to violate your principles, you can navigate it, adjust your behavior, and afterward, like an elastic band, bounce back to your disciplined practice.

    This is an overlooked part of habit-building. Because if you don’t consciously build the self-trust that you can, in fact, persevere despite setbacks, you’ll live in fear of giving up forever.

    So initially, when you start a new habit, be a hardliner.

    Use Tiny Trust Builders to start building confidence in your ability to persevere.

    After 30 days, start asking yourself: do I trust myself enough to skip a day and then bounce back to my disciplined practice tomorrow?

    Skip a day, then start again.

    Build self-trust.

    Feel your confidence and self-worth grow.

    Cultivate “elastic discipline” and become free.

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    #176 Cling and let go

    We cling the most, not to our prized possessions we worked hard to obtain, but to the painful patterns that both hurt us AND keep us comfortable.

    Some questions to ask yourself today:

    Who do I want to be?

    Which actions will turn me into the person I want to be?

    Which actions STOP me from turning into that person I want to be?

    Which of my actions, habits, and tendencies am I frustrated about, but simultaneously perpetuating?

    Which painful patterns am I scared to let go of because they have been instrumental in making me who I am today?

  • #37 The time you’re living anyway

    Question: Do you know how old I’ll be by the time I learn to play the piano?

    Answer: The same age you will be if you don’t.

    Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

    Some skills take years of practice before I’m any good at them. But I’m living those years anyway. And while society and systemic pressure might push me down a certain path, I still have a say in how I spend every day.

    Whether I publish a blog post today or not, I’ll go to bed tonight and the sun will still come up tomorrow.

    Whether I write every day in the coming 10 years or not, in 10 years I’ll still turn 40.

    The only difference: will I feel that my actions were aligned with who I want to be? Or will I feel regret instead?

    Some aspirations are worth the time you’re living anyway.

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