🍀DEFINING SUCCESS AS LESS - Issue 145

Hi, I am JOE and I write on "Mindful Productivity & Cerebral Happiness". My endeavour is to share life lessons, some thoughts, quotes & links to articles/podcasts/books, I discover during the week.

Hey Friends

In case you missed my LAST EDITIONS on🍀BEST LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Issue 143 & 🍀THE INTROSPECTION TRAP- Issue 142, then you can read them here. And if you’ve not subscribed to it and want to become a newsletter patron, you can do this before diving into this week’s ‘SUNDAY REATZO’. You can support my work and get a ‘Productivity Planner’ worth $25 absolutely free.

Back in the period from 2012-2018, I maintained a very healthy workout streak. Each day I would find time to ensure that I don’t break the chain. My fitness improved and I felt great. Then things changed and a few injuries came along. As a result, I started taking breaks from exercising. Consequently, I put on weight, felt a bit lazy and got distracted from the idea of working out.  On & Off, I wanted to break out of it but found it hard to restart. 

Whenever the thought of working out crossed my mind, the idea of being my old fit self where I could get into a very active lifestyle felt too daunting, too overwhelming. And I used to postpone /give up routinely again and again. This used to be a recurring pattern with my other habits like reading and writing too. The longer the break, the harder it became to restart. Then something changed: I changed my definition of what a successful day looked like. I redefined success as less -

On days I didn’t feel like running, I defined success as walking for 10 minutes. 

On days I didn’t feel like reading, I defined success as reading 10 pages. 

On days I didn’t feel like writing, I defined success as writing 20 sentences. 

This shift in my thinking toward doing hard things helped me restart. 

The best part was when I walked for that 10 min, read those 10 pages, and wrote those 20 sentences, I usually kept going for some more time. Even if I didn’t, I was fine with it. I felt content knowing that the day has been a success. 

Why the idea works -

When you are in a slump, two things happen. One, you don’t do the work you should be doing. And two, you are living with the guilt that you have wasted yet another day.

Guilt turns into self-criticism. Criticism turns into self-pity. Self-pity turns into sadness and then into despondency.  

By defining success as an easily doable task, you make it easy for you to restart. You don’t spend your time finding fault with yourself and wallowing in self-pity, but feel good because you have taken steps towards your goal. That feeling of fulfilment is powerful. It’s the fuel you fill for doing the task the next day.

When you are feeling overwhelmed and find yourself unable to do something you ought to do, define success as less. 

Never forget that achieving big goals begin with small, incremental steps.

Take good care & enjoy reading your weekly dose of cerebral happiness! And if you liked it then do not hesitate

Joe

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❤️ 🧠 Stuff, I invested myself during the week🧤🧤

BOOKS & ARTICLES:- I’hv read ‘The Essentials’ by HBR’S 10 MUST READS & ‘Stepping Beyond Khaki’ by K Annamalai.

🧠ON MY RADAR FOR ABSORBTION :-

1. Power Of Geography __By Tim Marshall

2. The Execution Of Bhagat Singh (Legal Heresies of the Raj) __ By satvinder Singh

3. Sunset Club ___ By Khushwant Singh

4. A Billion Wicked Thoughts __ By Ogi Ogas & Sai Gaddam

5. Mistborn Series ( 7 Book Series ) __ By Brandon Sanderson

6. Lessons From The Masters On happiness & Longevity

My Status for the Week -