How To Get Better Results In Everything (No More “Two-Minute” Noodles)

Jasky Singh — Process > Result

“I don’t like having to read through this entire book to know what I need to eat, I just want to know the diet”

Were my cousin’s words after I gave him a book that outlines the information and steps in mastering what to eat. In today’s world — we are all accustomed to (and it is very possible to) achieve results without having to go through the process. This is what my cousin was looking for.

However, this is a reason we’re more likely to fail. And this is why my cousin is unlikely to develop healthy eating habits.

Back in the day (those prehistoric pre-internet days),

If you wanted to strive for and achieve some result in your life, you pretty much had to go through a learning and trial process to get there.

The length and extent of the process depended on your access to information…

…which, without the internet, was significantly more limited the further we go back in time.

Everything today, however, has the potential to be a “two-minute” noodle experience.

Let’s say, I really want to achieve X.

I can head over to my good friend Mr Google and search for whatever I want on X, and within minutes

…(seconds, even)…

I will know everything there is to know, and several ways I could potentially get to X.

X can be anything here (small, large, complex, straight-forward, whatever):

• Wanting to develop a successful blog about teaching,
• Wanting to lose weight,
• Being able to tie a double windsor knot,
• Creating a profitable online eCommerce business,
• Becoming an incredible public speaker,
• Fill in the blank…

Today, endless number of people have documented how they achieved whatever it is I am also looking to do, hence I can replicate whatever they have done.

Easy as that. Done and dusted.

See ya later.

I can skip the process of getting to X by “copy and pasting” into my life whatever the recommendations, strategies, or steps I have found that can get me to this outcome.

Essentially, my noodles are ready in two-minutes, and, I don’t really need to learn how to cook anything.

But unfortunately,

Because we feel we can achieve any result so easily, and in certain cases we can, we walk right over the goldmine.

And what we miss is that

>> The cooking process may be the result itself. Not the ready-to-eat noodles.

Let me put that in another way.

Once you’ve made your two-minute noodles, and assuming you’ve never made anything else before, you’re limited to the skills you’ve acquired making those two-minute noodles.

And when we take a quick shortcut to the end result, there is an array of skills, learning, and valuable experience we miss.

So next time you’re hungry

It is back to the two-minute noodles again, or another two-minute version of whatever else there is.

And, there isn’t anything you’ve picked up from this experience you can carry over to other areas of your life.

This may be a bit too simplified, so let’s lose the analogy for a moment

…And let’s talk about my cousin again.

He asked me,

“Hey, so what’s are the foods I should be eating, and what should I avoid, if I want to improve my health and achieve better performance?”

Note: I am not a nutritionist, nor do I claim to know the answer.

But I like to read stuff.

So I referred him to a book that made a big difference to me, and many others I gifted the book to.

He downloaded it.

And as I watched him, he rapidly scrolled through the 230-odd pages…

…realising it wasn’t a two-minute read (and that the noodles may actually require investment in cooking skills first.)

So, he said,

“Look. I don’t like having to read through this entire book to know what I need to eat, I just want to find out the diet. I just want the answer.”

And he put the book away.

Well, the answer is reading the book.

Why?

It is very easy for me to summarise the book and just list the things that I think he should eat and not eat. He will do it, no doubt.

Google again most likely has another 100 suggestions.

But what happens when something falls outside of that spectrum? Or his situation changes? Or he decides to exercise more/less?

…OR the fact that he wants this to be an everlasting change, not just a temporary thing.

That one list just won’t work, and hence, neither will his healthy eating.

Hence, a big reason why “diet plans” fail. Yes it is great to have a starting point, and get some early wins to boost your motivation, but skimming the surface of commitment is where it goes wrong…

The immediate small gain prevents us from seeing the bigger long-term gain/s.

Until and unless you go through the process to get there,

1. there is no understanding,
2. there is no personalisation,
3. there is no experience,
4. there is no improvement,
5. there is no flexibility, and,
6. most importantly, you are NOT invested

If he decides to read the book,

He is more likely to engage in a process of learning, of experimenting with things, of modifying, of more learning, of getting closer to the intended result, and then repeating over and over.

He will be invested.

He will develop the knowledge to be flexible and improvise.

He will be more in control.

And, his self-image will change, and the inner change will grow its own legs.

Thereafter, the pressure for consistency will drive him further. And what he will notice is an automatic gravitation towards that result he was looking to achieve.

- And, unexpectedly then, he’ll see results in other areas of his life.

This is what diving deep into process can do.

Skipping it by giving him a to-do list, definitely wouldn’t.

When I started writing these posts,

4 years ago.

I used to just collate the best information from others that I could find.

I gathered the select key pieces of information that others had researched, discussed, and written.

(obviously quoting and referencing them)

And put it all together into one neat package of useful information…

…then sent it out to everyone.

I didn’t write anything myself, except for the fill-in parts to get it to all flow nicely.

The result I wanted to achieve was to get more awareness and more interest in our work/business. And hence by providing readers with useful and actionable information it would achieve this purpose.

AND -

I was getting people reading the posts, and it was increasing awareness — so great, it was working, job done right?

Yes, and no.

It was a big difference when I started writing posts from scratch.

From

• having to think of the topic,
• to structuring the post,
• to going through the painful process of writing it,
• split testing different versions to see which one is more interesting to people,
• editing it,
• getting it reviewed,
• sending it out,
• assessing the feedback and improving next time,
• etc.
• etc.

But by doing so,

Not only did these posts improve (feel free to leave a comment if they haven’t),

BUT,

1. My emails improved, I was able to write emails that got me in touch with difficult people that I normally couldn’t,
2. My proposals, documents and write-ups improved — winning clients I normally couldn’t, AND,
3. Surprisingly, my verbal communication skills improved (presentations, pitches, and general communication) — I was able to have better and stronger relationships.

It was my staring at a blank screen and coming up with something from scratch that did this for me.

By not ticking off the result straight away when I was collating info and being willing to dive deeper into the writing process…for the sake of writing.

So, what are we to do then?

Do we no longer try to aim for results?

If we do, how do we know we are not missing the goldmine that sits within the process? And isn’t this going to turn into just a super waste of time?

There are no hard and fast rules. It is always a process of experimentation (as life is), but it is actually quite simple to set up a system that works for you…

…well I’ve made it quite simple for myself.

Try and engage in the process of every single thing you can, that you have time for.

Are you serious? We don’t have unlimited time!

Again, yes and no.

No one in the entire world is motivated by process, if I walked up and told someone…

“Hey! Spend 3 hours writing something every day, most of which no one will read…just because”

I’d get a lot of these emoticon :| type faces.

People are motivated and driven to achieve some awesome result and/or lofty vision.

So we must use that initial motivation (which is usually the biggest driver) to jump into the process of whatever we are trying to achieve.

Going as deep as we can.

The deeper we get, the more we are motivated by the art in each process, and the more we create that inner change which grows its own momentum.

And the more unexpected parallel results you’ll start to see.

• By writing more, you’ll improve communication skills,
• By eating healthier, you’re likely to take time out to meditate and reduce stress,
• By diving into software coding, the DIY stuff around your house gets done better,
• And, on my trip to India, I got introduced to someone whose profession is a specialist turban tyer (yes there is such a thing). He is hired for movies, weddings, and special occasions. By him taking up photography classes, he developed a new look on creativity and it improved his turban tying skills significantly

Hence it seems smart to invest time to get into the process of everything you can. Who knows where it will take you.

And here’s what makes it easy. While on the journey, if you lose motivation at any time…

…the exit button is always there. Press it, and, move on.

It is not like there is a shortage of processes you can dive into.

It is not like there isn’t value in another process where you will have motivation to keep going.

So if you’ve read up to this line on such a long post, either you’ve gone through the process of reading this whole thing — so congrats.

Or like my cousin did, you’ve just scrolled down the whole way in the hope that you’ll grasp the answer, or read enough bold text that you’ll get the gist of the outcome or result you can take away really quickly.

For the latter, sorry I’ve purposely bolded text that has no relevance to the topic, because I don’t want you to think there is a result you can copy and paste here.

The two-minute noodles aren’t on the menu today.

Jasky Singh — Director K2AV & Sixth Degree + Good All ‘Round Bloke