The secret ingredients of a yoga class. A yoga class is almost always more effective than doing yoga alone. It isn’t about the skill or the knowledge. It’s about the conditions that are created. You go to the yoga studio with intent, at a set time. The teacher guides you on what to do next,
Because you want to. How often do you do things because you want to? Our social selves learn to adapt to what everyone wants. And if we are busy doing what everyone wants, when do we do what we want to do?
Ferrari problems. If you had a Ferrari in your garage, where will you take it? Just because it can go fast, doesn't mean it will tell you where to go. Rather, choosing where to go is now more important than if you didn't have access to this car.
The not so obvious work. Tasks and chores are obvious work, more or less. There is not much to figure out. They might take time to get done. But you know what the output is going to be. Projects are different. You start with an idea and you iterate through it to make it tangible.
Skills or assets? Being able to do accurate calculations used to be a highly valued skill before Excel (or VisiCalc) came out. After Canva, being a good enough graphic designer became worthless. As technology evolves, skills become less valuable. But assets like trust and reliability become more valuable. What are you investing in
Making systemic changes. Systemic changes are different from incremental changes. They impact the way things work going forward. Sometimes they might be small, like moving your desk to where you get more sunlight. It's a small shift but it changes the way you work everyday. The shift we are seeing with
Choosing what to compound. Compounding is more powerful than we might be able to comprehend. But we don't need to understand how it works to be able to use it. We can choose what we want to compound. Debt compounds and so do savings. Negative thoughts compound and so do positive reinforcements.
Rest day. Rest might seem unproductive or sometimes even a hassle. Getting your car serviced. Taking a rest day at gym. Sleeping enough. Taking a vacation. Having a weekly off. Rest allows us to reset. Recalibrate our compasses. Find our feet again. Give our body some breathing space. Constant movement doesn'
99% done... ...is not done. When it's done, we can move forward from it. We can design the next version or move to the next project. A done project is much more valuable than a perfect project that never gets done.
Where to? Maps ask you for a destination. They don't tell you what your destination should be. That's where compass is needed. It helps us figure out which direction we should be moving in. And then we can choose a destination and use a map to get there.
Notes to myself. 1. It might not be about you. 2. You are more effective when you are at peace. 3. We all make stories to hide our fear. 4. Dress the way you want to feel. 5. Remove unnecessary conflict from your life. 6. Helplessness creates trauma. 7. It's hard
Charging the battery. You can't charge your phone by plugging it into itself. You need an outside source. What charges you? Books, podcast, conversations, nature, physical activity? What else? Also, what drains your energy? What would help you let that go?
Demystifying self-compassion. If your friend was going through what you are going through, what would you say to her? If you were helping a kid navigate the situation you are in, how would you approach it? If someone you care for was in your shoes, what would you recommend them to do?
Intention or chance? Things worth doing need to be done with intention. They rarely happen through chance. And even if they do, do you want to leave it up to chance?
The trap of avoiding risk. Risk is usually looked on as a negative word. Taking risks is associated with being careless. "This is risky". "Avoid taking a risk". We usually look at risk as a binary choice: all-in or fold. In both cases, the outcome that we don't play
Finding the way back. Getting back on the track is a different challenge than staying on the track. It's less about acceleration and more about navigation. Once we are on the highway, we can speed up, but until then it helps to focus on just getting back on it. One thing at
Writing the perfect blog. The perfect stops us from writing. It creates an ideal that we want to reach. We move away from “being a contribution” and towards some unachievable, unexplainable ideal. And not matter what we do, we can’t match it. It could be our previous work. Or it could be the
Getting out of the ditch. Resistance doesn't like change. Big change, small change, any change. It will keep us engaged in unnecessary details, complications, analysis as long as it can stop us from moving forward. It seems obvious when someone else is facing this. But when we are in the ditch, it'
Emotional heavy lifting. You can't lift 40 kgs if you have the strength to lift only 30. What you can do is to build your strength gradually and become someone who can lift 40. Worrying about 40 and beating yourself up over it isn't going to help you get
Listening to the body "Mind over matter" seems like a profound advice. But matter, specifically the body, has intelligence. And as Martha Beck teaches, the essential self uses the body to communicate. We live in a culture where listening to the mind is prioritized over listening to the body. But we can
Breaking down identity. I am this, this, this, therefore I do this, this, this. I am this, this, this, therefore I don't do this, this, this. I am afraid of this, this, this... therefore, I do this, this, this. I am afraid of this, this, this... therefore, I shy away from
Minimum effective mindset. The keyword here is effective. If it isn't effective, minimum doesn't help. It requires us to be clear about the "What's it for?" and then figure out what's the minimum that will get us there. A spaceship is meant to
Blank page syndrome. Sitting with the blank page is uncomfortable. One, we are not sure what to write and two, we start doubting if we can write. This discomfort offers us a choice: stay or leave. Most people choose to leave. Professionals choose to stay. They understand that the discomfort might last a
Once, again. One workout doesn't change anything. It might make you feel better (or worse). But by itself, it has no significant impact on the body. A hundred workouts do. The catch is that you can't reach a hundred without the one. Starting (or restarting) - getting the
Time to recover. Cutting short the time to recover slows down the whole process. Whether it is the time to recover for the muscles after a workout, or for a person after an illness or for a team after a project. Recovery helps us get into prime form to deliver the goods again.
