One complete action step... ...no matter how small, gives you the feeling of DONE, of shipping. And makes it more likely that you will get the next one done too. When overwhelmed by the complexity of the work in front of you, figure out the next action step and focus on getting it done.
Dark resistance and memory. The trick dark resistance plays on us is that it makes us forget the best versions of ourselves. Not only that, it makes us believe that the best versions of ourselves is not us, it's someone else. If we start embracing the fact that our best version is
Fear you don't need... Excerpt From Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: ...you do not need your fear in the realm of creative expression. Seriously, you don’t. Just because you don’t need your fear when it comes to creativity, of course, doesn’t mean your fear won’t show up. Trust me, your
As you are... "As you are" is good enough. Being kind, compassionate, respectful, and loving is good enough. When we stop comparing, we learn to accept ourselves as we are. The more we do that, the more we can grow.
Love (and acceptance) We all want to feel accepted. We all want to feel loved. We can start by accepting ourselves. We can start by loving ourselves. That's the hard part.
The next one... Once you ship a project, the anxiety about how it's doing, how it's being perceived, and what you could have done better can take over... ...which is not useful because now the work is shipped. You can't do much about it. What you can
Without shame or judgement... We carry many unresolved issues in our subconscious because we are afraid that if we share them with others, they would judge us or we would feel ashamed. The more we carry these issues around, the heavier they become and the more they affect our lives adversely. There are three
What's on my MacBook? Inspired by MKBHD's series of videos on "What's in his bag?" Purple.Space - If you ever dreamed of having a global community of creators supporting you to work on your dreams, you may have been dreaming about purple space. Founded by Seth Godin,
There's no rush. Don’t jump from one crisis to another. Breathe... Appreciate if one crisis is over, or at least you have taken some action to move forward. Breathe… There’s no rush. When you stop rushing, you start seeing that it doesn't need to be a crisis.
Putting a number to it If you don’t put a number on it, you are not on the hook. For instance, “I will comment on 3 posts” is different than “I want to be active on social media.” “I will do one push up a day” is different than “I want to work out
Putting light on dark resistance Dark resistance will keep affecting our life if we let it remain in the dark. It will not be easy to put light on it, to share what it says when we are alone, to face our fears. But unless we are willing to change the light bulb in the
Being uncomfortable is the point. If you do not wish to be uncomfortable, why are you here? In this class, in this gym, in this space? If you are here to only show what you already know, then you are not going to learn. Learning requires letting go of what you already know, being vulnerable
Overcoming Dark Resistance Dark resistance is different from light resistance. Light resistance is when you keep fiddling with the phone rather than writing your thesis. Dark resistance goes deep. It strikes at your root, your existential fears and beliefs. It creates an illusion where you start believing what it says as the truth.
Getting out of a slump. First of all, wear your best clothes, even if you are not going to meet anyone today. Spend time in the morning sunlight, or even afternoon one, for at least 20 minutes (with a timer). Remove your blue-cut glasses if you are wearing any. Listen to Audible (War of Art
One thing that matters. What is the one project that matters to you right now? What do you want to commit to? What does "done" or "good enough" look like? What are the milestones? Who can keep you accountable?
A glimpse of hope. When we are engulfed in darkness, even getting a glimpse of hope may become challenging. No matter how much we try, we may not be able to touch it. It may seem too out of hand. It may take a lot of courage, but taking one action contrary to Resistance,
Shipping "bad work" as an antidote to resistance On days when we are down with resistance, it's unlikely that the work we ship would be our best work. Rather, we are more likely be sluggish. Even if we put in our best effort, all we might be able to do is to somehow patch something up
The difficulty in choosing the easier option. If you had a choice between a traffic-laden route that takes longer and one that seems empty and faster, you wouldn't choose the traffic-laden one just because it's hard. That would be ridiculous. But, when it comes to our work, we find it difficult to make
Making space for happiness. Being a pro doesn't mean working all the time. Rather, working all the time is a sure shot sign of an amateur. When we work all the time, we tire ourselves out and don't ship much. The pro sets boundaries so they can make space for
The wasteful nature of Resistance. Just because it consumes more fuel, makes driving more difficult, or feels like work, doesn't make driving with the handbrakes up a fruitful exercise. A driver who does this is simply wasting resources. He is not learning anything that would make him a better driver. It's
Counting the no’s. If we start counting the no’s, they stop affecting us that much. It allows us to say, “Oh! it’s just the 5th no” or ”It’s only the 21st one.” And since we have survived 21 of them, we aren’t that afraid of the 22nd either. Counting
Minimum viable action step. What's the minimum we can do that would count as one complete action step? Anything less and it would not matter. Once we figure that out, then we can put in the reps. The more the reps, the better our chances of success. For instance, enquiring about a
Just keep typing... Will things get better by typing? I don’t know. Will it help? I'm not sure. What I do know is that things won’t get better by thinking. And so, sometimes, the only option I have is to type.
Do that first. What’s the most important thing for you to work on today? What will require the most energy and attention? What will bring forth the most resistance? Do that first.
The skill of self-compassion. If our friend was going through what we are going through, we would not use the same words, voice or tone with her that we end up using with ourselves. While engaging with others, especially our friends, we are patient, compassionate and understanding. We give them space. We allow them
