#34 Where else?

ByLukas
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Regularly asking “Where else?” is one of the simplest ways to become more creative and generate innovative insights.

Not only does this allow you to connect new insights with existing knowledge and experience, but it also invites you to imagine new use cases.

  • “Where else have I seen this (or something similar) before?”
  • “Where else does this apply (to my current knowledge)?”
  • “Where else might this apply (in contexts where I haven’t discovered it yet)?”

Examples

Harvard Medical School professor Herbert Benson suggests the neurotransmitter NO (Nitric Oxide) may be the catalyst for breakthroughs and “aha moments.”
Where else have I seen this before? -> Pranayama/Yogic Breathing: Nasal breathing (and humming “om”) can increase nitric oxide production fifteen-fold. Humming your way to epiphanies might be worth a try.

Learning a language by grouping words instead of reducing it to words and grammar. Where else does this apply? -> Conversation Based Chunking; learning series of digits by grouping them together;… See: chunking concept in cognitive psychology

Uber made it possible for people to share/rent out their car.
Where else might this apply? -> How about sharing/renting out your home? That’s how AirBnB was born.

You don’t have to look elsewhere.
See what’s already there, then ask…
Where else?

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    #51 Reversing the causal arrow

    ByLukas

    Who is the person who has already done (or is already doing) what you want to do?

    What does their life look like?

    Where are they?

    What do they say, think feel?

    What do they focus on?

    Who did they have to become?

    What would life be like if YOU have already done (or are already doing) what you want to do?

    It’s hard to achieve change if you’re stuck in your current identity (where you haven’t achieved that change yet).

    Using your imagination to reverse the causal arrow can help you get out of that rut.

    First imagine what it feels like to have already achieved (or to be already doing) something.

    Then choose your present actions according to that feeling and identity.

    Let every action you take help you become more of who you want to be.

  • |

    #19 The first time feels funny, the fiftieth time you fly

    ByLukas

    In a podcast segment about practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,Tim Ferris and Joshua Waitzkin discuss a principle for managing expectations they call:

    “The first rep doesn’t count.”

    Tim Ferris, Josh Waitzkin: https://tim.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/148-josh-waitzkin.pdf

    In other words: when performing a move for the first time, your body and mind need to get used to it. Gradually,you’ll get better – and the more aware you are of your body, the faster you’ll make progress – but judging someone on their first attempt doesn’t say much about their future potential.

    This holds true for many skills in life, like starting a daily publishing habit.

    Publishing a post or a video for the first time always feels funny (and often frightening). At this stage, judgment or feedback is futile. It’s all about jumping the hurdle of getting started

    Publish five times, you’re ready to get some feedback (both from yourself and from others)…

    Publish for the fiftieth time, and you’re well on your way to turn it into a habit… and fly.

    So whenever I start something new, I manage my expectations by repeating to myself:

    The first time feels funny. The fiftieth time I fly.

    And for bonus points: What would it feel like the 500th time?

  • | |

    #112 Chipping away at your skepticism

    ByLukas

    You don’t have to believe you can do, be or achieve something today.

    But you must trust there’s always a tiny daily action, fairly easy to take, that goes against your disbelief.

    A tiny daily trusty builder, repeated every day, that chips away at your skepticism and plants a seed of self-trust in your brain: “Maybe I CAN change”?

    Then one day, you wake up and you believe: I can be whoever I choose to be.

  • |

    #192 Your desired identity

    ByLukas

    Who you are and what you do consistently always coincide. After all, your repeated actions create your identity.

    But who you want to be and what you consistently do don’t usually coincide. Otherwise, you would already have become who you want to be.

    You want to be a writer, but you’re not consistently writing? Writing consistently will bridge the gap between your current and desired identity.

    You want to be a guitar player, but you’re not consistently playing the guitar? Practicing daily will bridge the gap between your current and desired identity.

    Could you make your actions coincide with your desired identity?

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