Don’t Think Different and Big If You Want to Be Successful
The foolproof success formula is the opposite of this
Success in its simplest form is accomplishing a goal. People who became a millionaire before 30, won a medal in professional sport, or shed 10 pounds within a month are all successful. Regardless of the scale, all achievements in life spring from setting a task, then completing it.
I have my fair share of studying the essences that make one successful. I study multiple materials from various high achievers. To name a few, Tony Robbins’s morning priming, Tim Ferris’s 4 hour work week, and Amy Cuddy’s power posing are all inspiring enough to get me started on something.
I always feel pumped at the beginning. The world is our oyster and I feel hopeful to finish whatever I set out to do. It isn’t unrealistic to pass the JLPT N3 (Japanese language proficiency test) within a year or I can learn to do a kip-up (Don’t ask why I want to do that, it just looks cool). Then a few days or months later, I slip back to the status quo and “snap back to reality”.
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. — Winston Churchill
Failed attempts in my life don’t deter me. I continue to watch more TED Talks and YouTube how-to videos with enthusiasm. Yet I still am not able to do a kip-up and I am not even registered for any JLPT exam. How can I be more successful and improve the rate of finishing what I set out to do?
A eureka moment came and I realize the most important factor in every success is perseverance. The “How” and “Why” wouldn’t get me anywhere if I don’t have the “When”. My problem with success is I don’t practice enough. I spend the time to find shortcuts and how others have done it but I didn’t put in the required effort to actually do it. I am always a bystander to success.
There is a limit to the info you can consume before it becomes all talks.
Watching a few videos on kip-up like “Learn How to Kip Up In 5 Minutes” is useful and fun. What matters afterward, is to go straight to practice the jump and never stop until I execute a kip-up successfully.
Practice ꝏ = Success
The success formula is to keep working until things inevitably happen in your favor. Don’t want to take my word for it? I can tell you all the achievers are basically saying the same thing when it comes to success.
The Recurring Pattern of Success
Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness. — Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell popularizes the 10,000 Hour Rule in his book Outliers. The author preaches that you need to put at least 10 thousand hours into what you do to become an expert. This converts to allocating at least 5 hours per day non-stop, for around 5 and a half years to practice.
If you know you have to write something every single day, even a paragraph, you will improve your writing. — Seth Godin
Seth Godin advocates on many occasions, in numerous ways, about the benefits of writing every day, even if you suck. He has been blogging every single day for more than a decade already.
Don’t break the chain. — Jerry Seinfeld
Lifehacker revealed Jerry Seinfeld’s calendar system, a productivity secret that the famous comedian used to push himself to write one joke a day. Seinfeld told young comic Brad Isaac the only way to create better jokes is to write one daily. Seinfeld marked a red X on the calendar after he completed his writing for that day. After a while, there will be a chain of red X on the calendar. From then on, his job is not breaking the chain. Seinfeld used this system to help himself focus on keeping it at, way before any habit tracking app has appeared.
Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Jerry Seinfeld, and many others might have different approaches, techniques, and methods to excel, but the main principle is the same —
To accomplish your goal, do your thing repeatedly.
If practicing is the foolproof formula to success, how can we make it happen easier?
1. We Need to Choose Stamina over Strength
Slow and steady win the race. The aim is to come back day after day for a prolonged period. Devote as many hours as possible when you first started makes you fall into the burnout trap faster. It’s not hard to get hyped up and allocate several hours daily to your newfound passion, the trick is to hang on to it.
It’s way more feasible to allocate 15 mins than 3 hours every day to practice guitar. Practice 15 mins daily for one year equals 5,475 minutes of playtime while practice 3 hours daily for a month equals 5,400 minutes. Looking at the numbers, the 75 minutes difference isn’t much. However, the latter option is way harder to stick with.
When fail to keep up with a streak, we feel defeated. The chance for us to abandon that routine rises. Plus, it would be difficult to restart routines that require an ample amount of time once it is being left idle.
It Goes Back to an Aesop’s fable…
Think of the famous “The Tortoise and the Hare” story. The hare represents strength while the tortoise represents stamina. We know who got the last laugh.
2. Performance Can Be Procrastination in Disguise
It’s delusional to find the optimal time or way to get started! I am too concerned with having good conditions, tools, and methods. I lose focus on my main objective in the search for ways to achieve my goal smarter and faster.
One good example is losing weight. I am obsessed with whether the crunch or sit-up is suitable for me rather than rolling my mat out. If I missed doing the exercise in the morning, stacking it on top of my usual routine, I would put that off for another day. I would download a bunch of training and habit apps then research which one is good instead of working out. All these things are supposed to “help” yet stalled me.
Make It Simple so It Is Easy to Follow
Simplicity can help you avoid mistaking the means for the end. Stick with being consistent. The primary goal is to repeat, the form and system are secondary.
My exercise rate increased when I just open up a workout from an app without thinking much, whenever I am free.
3. Think Micro and Consistent
When you dream, you need to think big and differently. When it comes to execution, you need to think micro and consistent. Bite-size changes are more sustainable. Break down your big goal into minor ones so it is more attainable.
This is the reason why those 30-days challenge is beneficial. There is a specific and small task like quitting sugar, plank, meditate, and writing for you to regularly follow. The 30-days challenge is not about huge transformation but small improvement. A few modest achievements under the belt can be used to get closer to the endgame.
Micro Habit Means Low Maintenance, Not No Maintenance.
The following two practices can keep us on track and the repetition going:
Get a Paper Calendar— We need a simple visual reminder of our most important streak. Place a paper calendar at a place that you can always see, like on your work desk or bedroom wall. Put an X (the Jerry Seinfeld’s way) or a checkmark if you prefer, on that calendar after the main task of that day is completed. Hereafter, you focus on not breaking the streak.
Habit tracking apps and online calendars are good but they provide too many features and functions. We need to make it simple for us to follow through and not get distracted. Besides, as the saying goes, if everything is important then nothing is. We reserve the spot on the paper calendar for our most crucial task.
Use the Two-Day Rules — Don’t allow yourself to skip a habit twice in a row. This rule I learn from YouTuber Matt D’Avella is making every sense. Let’s face it, we are not robots, and there comes a time when we needed a break. Implementing the two-day rules let us have some leniency to bounce back after a slip-up.
This rule is a plan B for us. Of course, we want to stick with our routine day after day. Nonetheless, when we can not attain that, the next best thing is completing our task every other day.
We could outrun our old selves, given that if we never quit.
The most beautiful formula is the ones that are clean and clear. Remember the essence of success is repetition. No person, method, nor tool in this world can help you reach your goal unless you do the hard work yourself. Now you are equipped with this “secret” about the path to success, are you ready to embark on this journey?
