Breaking the Cycle of Bad Habits: How to Rewire Your Brain

We're the sum of our choices. Every decision we make is a vote for the person we want to be.

Here's how you optimise your choices and actions to do work with lasting impact:

Guard your attention closely.

People say time is money but most of them don't act like it. Tech companies make billions from your attention. Focus on doing what @Khemaridh calls 10k work, so you can spend more time doing things you love.

Follow your curiosity.

When you're curious about something, it's easier to engage deeply. Output feels effortless. And the more engaged you are, the more likely you are to produce exceptional work.

Approach everything with a curious mind and you'll see opportunity everywhere

Do things that don't scale.

In a world where everyone is chasing growth hacking tactics to move fast, weigh the impact over time instead of what simply feels urgent in the moment.

Follow the 80/20 Rule.

The Pareto Principle tells us that 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts. It's an honest reflection of our lives. Find the activities that generate the most value and invest more time in them.

Practice regular reflection and calibrate your actions against long-term goals.

Make sure you're tracking towards outcomes that matter by taking some time each week to reflect on your progress. This will help you make course corrections along the way.

Create habits that align with your desired identity.

Your habits are a manifestation of the person you want to be. To be a writer, write every day. To be a musician, practice every day.

Put systems in place that make the outcomes automatic.

Start before you're ready.

Don't wait until the perfect moment - dig your well before you're thirsty. Prepare in advance so that you can capitalise when opportunity strikes.

Simplify and automate your life to focus on your highest-leverage activities.

Look for things you can automate or outsource in advance, to make the outcomes you want automatic.

Be patient and build momentum over time.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Big wins seldom are. Focus on building momentum over time, and trust that the compounding effects of your actions will eventually lead to significant results.

Be as resilient as a cockroach.

Be persistent. Never let anyone tell you that you don't belong somewhere. Be unkillable.

When you encounter setbacks, remember that they're temporary and part of the process. Pick yourself up and keep going.

Be humble and learn from your mistakes.

Instead of trying to avoid failure, go out of your way to make the best failures possible. Change the variables, learn something new every time, learn from others, make failure cheap.

Be grateful for everything.

If you become obsessed with what you don't have, what you have will never satisfy you.

Invest in relationships and surround yourself with people who support your goals.

The people we spend time with have a big influence on our lives. Find friends, mentors and strangers who are heading in the same direction. Find people at your level, and a few steps ahead.

Teach what you know and share your experience with others.

One of the best ways to learn is to teach. By sharing your knowledge with others, you not only help them, but you also deepen your understanding of the subject matter.

Be a lifelong learner and continually invest in your personal development.

The best way to be resilient to change is to always be prepared for it. Read things you agree with and things that you don't. Challenge your beliefs. Test your limits. Keep adding new tools to your belt.

Be disciplined and consistent in your actions.

Success requires discipline and consistency. Show up every day and do the work, even when you don't feel like it.

As Seth Godin says, chop wood and carry water. Do what it says on the tin. Be a professional.

Enjoy the journey.

It's easy to get caught up in planning for the future or dwelling on the past, but it's important to live in the present moment and enjoy the journey. Ups and downs will come. Storms and rain will come.  Make great friends. Learn as much as possible.

Think Again

Each decision you make narrows the aperture of your attention. They're like variable filters which can leave you with a constrained view of the world unless revisited.

Question your assumptions and consider how your chosen identity might be shaping your perspective.

That's all for now. But there's more where that came from!

That's a wrap!