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  1. A Winding Path of Progress/

Becoming an idea machine

·5 mins·
Challenge Ideas
Table of Contents
Me in the forest

Hi 🙂,
this newsletter now has a logo (see top left) and a name:
A Winding Path of Progress.
I was super motivated last week. Like I had not been in a long time. Did some (long) overdue chores and get a start on some new projects.

Review of the last challenge #

Last week’s challenge was: 4x4 + Visualizations

I think about my goals rarely and only bring them to the forefront of my mind when there is a noticeable absence of direction. That was the baseline, with which I went into this challenge.

4x4 #

What? #

Write down four goals. Then write them down again, until you have done four cycles.

Why? #

I have noted these benefits:

  1. My work is more focused toward my goals, as I regularly engage with them.
  2. Clarity. When I started, it was hard for me to answer “What are my goals?” I sort of knew, but they weren’t clear. In writing about the goals, I would look at them from different perspectives and distill them down to their essence. Through that I acquired clarity about them.
  3. The process is calming. Given the repetition of writing about the same things.
  4. It updates the goals in my mind. Goals subtly change over time, as I change. New information effects the why, what and how. Priorities shift ever so slightly. This practice brings the goals up-to-date.

I had a similar practice in the past, where I observed similar positive effects.

How? #

I picked the goals that are the most important or were on my mind. From day to day I switched most of them up. The stock market strategy🇩🇪 came up every day though.

As far as tips go, I can say that I often used the grammatical sense that conveys future achievement. As if I had already completed my goal:

  • I will have developed …
  • 🇩🇪 Ich werde … entwickelt haben.

These questions I found helpful in looking at my goals from different perspectives:

  • What does this mean?
  • What changes as a result (in your life)?
  • Why do I want this?
  • What exactly do I want to accomplish?

Visualization #

Through NLP, I was used to get myself into a deeply relaxed state (Milton hypnotic patterns) and play a scene in my mind. The Neurostream “Die Zukunft schauen” made it easier, but was optional.

I felt these visualizations weren’t so useful, since I was already very convinced I would achieve the goals I was visualizing. Preaching to the choir. I will keep it in mind, as a tool in my arsenal, if I have a goal where I need a little more persuasion.

Issues #

The biggest issue was, that this practice is pretty time-consuming. I averaged 27 mins for the 4x4 and 11 mins for the visualizations. With repetition the 4x4 got longer, not shorter. Because the 4x4 also is not the easiest thing to do, I noticed myself procrastinating it.

In it’s current form the practice is not sustainable for me. Even if it becomes (more) automatic with time, it’s still a huge chunk of time. I know myself well enough, to know that I would drop it, if the times are tough. It’s not easy (like write a paragraph) nor powerful enough (like walking every day.)

Future application #

I got the sense that this practice is something that would have to be tested over a span of three months, to be able to judge it fairly. The value really kicks in, when you would have otherwise lost track of your goals, but the practice keep you focused. I will continue to do an adjusted form of the 4x4, by only looking at two goals. A 2x4 if you will. I will report any results.

On previous challenges #

I am retaining the spirit of no media, eventhough I have relaxed the rules a bit. Also, I have decided to do the extreme two-week version of the challenge every two months. As a reset and preventive measure. With time, I have the tendency to lower my guard and slip back into behaviors that don’t serve me.

Yoga mat in my office

For my sun salutations in the morning, my yoga mat now greets me every day in my office. Making sure I don’t forget.

I did the No Complaining challenge last year. I was struggling back then and eventually moved on. Now, I picked it up again, because my wife was doing something similar. It just seemed natural. On the first day I noticed that I was complaining. But nothing since. Makes me appreciate how far I’ve come.

Next challenge #

I will write down 10 ideas every day. On a whim, I had already started doing this last week. I had wanted to come up with a name for this newsletter and proceeded to generate 70 ideas over the course of the week. Surprising how much you can come up with if you just sit down and focus on it.

The point of this daily practice is to exercise your idea muscle, as James Altucher calls it. It is not about the ideas themselves, but increasing your capacity to generate them.

I’ve always thought of myself as being good at coming up with optimizations within the box, but having a hard time thinking outside of the box. This practice might serve as a way to collect evidence to the contrary.

New articles #

This week I wrote:

Cheers,
Jonathan