#488 You’re not the one running the show

You don’t have to feel like a consistent writer to write every day.

You have to write every day to start feeling like a consistent writer.

You can only overcome your limiting beliefs by repeatedly proving to yourself that they’re not true.

Try to hold me back. Put obstacles in my way. Do whatever you want. But this new habit is here to stay.

Good things happen when you say those words to the world.

Even better things happen when you say those exact same words to yourself.

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

You can’t reach great successes without exposing yourself to spectacular failure.

You can’t feel amazing without exposing yourself to a downfall.

You can’t feel great love without exposing yourself to a broken heart.

You can’t explore the world without exposing yourself to getting lost.

And what’s more: you won’t be able to fully appreciate the good things in life without having been exposed to the challenging things.