Emotional or strategic? Emotions are fleeting. They can't be relied upon especially when the going gets hard. Also, emotions make us see drastic measures as the only option forward. And they do not present a choice. When we are in the grip of emotions, it's hard to see outside
Feeling the symptoms. What’s the project that we can’t let go of? The one where when we try to let go of it, we start feeling the symptoms: heaviness, restlessness, despair. And the moment the project is back on the plate, the symptoms go away. If there’s such a project,
Allocating resources to projects. Each project requires resources. Mostly, we are conscious about allocating money but extravagant with resources like our time & energy. If we don't assess how much we have available and also limit our work to the amounts we allocate, sooner or later, we would run into burnout.
Making things worse. Many times, we take the higher ground while we are hiding. We don't act and we say that it is because we are virtuous. At least we are not making things worse. We all have the ability to make things better. And if we are not doing that
Boredom is the key. The amateur seeks new, change and exciting. The moment a project loses these traits, the amateur gets bored and seeks another project. The professional thrives in boredom. She embraces the repetitive nature of showing up day after day working on supposedly the same thing knowing that even though she can&
90 minutes at a time. A lot can be done, 90 minutes at a time. A lot less would be done, in let’s say, 6 hours at a time. Our brain can’t process that much time. It won’t initiate the process that would help us focus. 90 minutes allow us to warm
"The how" interferes with "the what". If we get distracted by "the how", while deciding "the what", it is going to lead us astray. Our decision-making would become cloudy and emotions would stop us from making a strategic decision. We need to ignore "the how" until we decide on "
Energy draining sources. These could be people, events, thoughts or anything else. They seem to be sinks for attention, and nothing good comes out of giving attention to them. Instead, they make it more difficult to be creative, productive and for us to show up as our best selves. The only way to
Be a force of nature. When we move forward to make things better, we will create tension and we will ruffle some feathers. Sooner or later, there would be pushback from people who are uncomfortable with the change we are creating. This pushback can stop us in our tracks, empowering the voice of the critic
This very moment. How do you become a professional? How much time does it take? No, not days, not weeks, not years. You can do turn pro this very moment. By shipping the work, now. Everything else is a distraction including going back to resources on how to turn pro. Leave everything else.
Rational vs. limbic brain. The rational brain is the commentator. The limbic brain is the player. It doesn't matter what the commentator says. What matters is what the player does.
Out of the boat. “It signifies more than being off track—it means you don’t know where the track is anymore. “Out of the boat” could refer to something as simple as losing all memory of ever having been on an exercise program, or it could refer to floundering in the wake of
Making growth wait. When we make ourselves busy with busy work, when we procrastinate and rationalise and don't take the action steps that would lead to growth, we know that no one would come and ask us why we didn't do that. And since no one will ask, we
There are no points for resistance. There are points only for doing the work, only for shipping. It does not matter how brilliant your idea is if it does not see the light of day. It does not matter what resistance says to you in order to convince you to procrastinate, the fact remains that the
Opt-in or opt-out? The hard work is making the system of things you want to do an "opt-out" system. Once it's an opt-out system, it will work. For instance, if you go to the gym daily, you have to choose to opt out from going today, rather than opting
Ebb and flow. Some days you flow. Some days you ebb. Without flow, there is no ebb. Without ebb, there is no flow.
The right kind of fear. Fear is not always bad. The right kind of fear is an excellent motivator. For instance, when we start taking the fear of missing a deadline seriously, we ship our work on time. Or, when we start taking the fear of our health deteriorating seriously, we start working out consistently.
Shipping is the cure. Resistance pushes us to delay shipping, whether it is ideas, projects, tasks or chores. And the more we delay, the heavier, the more miserable we feel. The cure to this misery is to build a habit of shipping. Until we activate the shipping mindset and move forward with the intention
At least one yes. If you toss a single coin, there is a 50% chance of getting a head or a tail. But if you toss 10 coins, there is a 99.9% (1023/1024) chance of getting at least one head. To move our projects forward, all we need is one yes. We
What can you teach us? Each of us knows something that is obvious to us but is complicated to someone else. These are things we have learned over years, even decades. They are so obvious to us that we feel that everyone else would also know it. But they don't. And that'
Being kind to ourselves. Some days, we can choose to let ourselves be. Some days, it can be okay to not be our best selves. Some days, it can be okay to not show up. It's tough being our own boss. And sometimes we can choose to be a kinder boss.
Asymptotes. You can neither be a complete amateur nor a complete professional. I think the two extremes are asymptotic. You can’t reach the end. But you can come pretty close to the axis on either end.
The big payday. I am all for working on the ambitious project, the big payday. But I am not for betting the house on it or relying on it to pay our bills. I think we can make space for more realistic projects that create sufficient income while working on the big shots.
I will (NOT) work harder. Instead, I can ask whether this needs to be done at all. And if yes, why? What's the cost of not doing it? Can we bear the cost? And if it needs to be done, does it need to be done now? Can it be pushed down for
