The Art of Achievement

I believe that long-term achievement is a function of how well we can communicate with ourselves.

We’re complex creatures, but I believe that there is a method to our madness; by solving for x, we put ourselves in control. This method is made up of multiple factors; however, there are several common misconceptions that impede our understanding. Let’s move them out of the way, shall we?

Misconception #1: Knowledge = Power

This semester, I took a Neuroscience Seminar that focused on sleep. We discussed sleep from every angle imaginable and used our knowledge to create an information campaign for the greater campus. The campaign focused on actionable steps to better sleep hygiene. Personally, I’ve benefited greatly from implementing these steps into my life.

In the last class session, one of my classmates asked the professor, “How many of the habits do you follow in your own life?” The professor looked at us and said,

“None.”

To be clear, I greatly respect this professor, but I was very disappointed to hear her answer.

Misconception #2: Time Heals

I’m going to ask you to think back. When was the first time you started telling yourself that your problems will go away with time. Has it worked?

Misconception #3: Tomorrow Exists

By the time you finish this sentence, nine people will have died (they also believed that their tomorrow was going to exist). (Source)

Discovery #1: Power = ?

What constitutes personal power? Habit? Or maybe mindset? Oh, it must be action.

Truth is, the answer is much more complex. Our daily lives are governed by habit. Our habits are governed by mindset. Mindset is the product of both our actions and our conditioning. Our conditioning is a product of our habits and our environment, which is a product of what we accept in our lives.

Head hurting yet?

These intersecting forces collude and collide to create your current state of being. Your mood right now is the manifestation of the last few months. Your mind is infinitely more sensitive to thoughts than your body is to nutrients. An Olympic athlete eats right for decades before the big day, right? We think our mood is the result of the last 24 hours, but we’re dead wrong.

Discovery #2: Knowledge ≠ Power

We don’t know the singular source of power, but we do know how to affect it. That’s enough. People ask me how I mastered myself and my habits, but it’s a personal journey – I can’t explain mine to you any more than you can explain how to learn English. You can’t, even though your mastery of English is coveted by millions around the world.

The important dimension is the dimension of application. Make the commitment to attack this game we call life – make the commitment to win.

Discovery #3: The Compound Effect

Whatever area of power you start improving first, be consistent about it. I’m going to share two of my habits and do some math to illustrate how they can benefit you in the long-term (50 years, since you’re probably pretty young).

Habit #1: Cold Shower

Yeah, yeah. It’s uncomfortable. It also wakes me up (forget needing a $4 cup of coffee) and shaves 5 minutes off my morning shower time. No big deal, right?

Money savings: $1,460/year * 50 years = $73,000

Time savings: 30.5 hours/year * 50 years = 63.5 days (remember, the time measurements are actually longer than you would think, since we think of a “waking day” – these are solid days, without sleep taking a chunk out)

That’s a lot of time and money.

Habit #2: Extremely Limited Facebook

OK, OK, a cold shower is too extreme and you love sitting in hot water. Fine. How about the experiment that found that Facebook depresses you? Let’s say you’re a fan of Facebook (1.5 hours per day) who decides to go without. In addition to probably feeling better about yourself:

Time savings: ~23 days / year * 50 years = 1,140.5 days

Imagine if I said, hey, you have 1,140 days of vacation. You won’t even feel the need to sleep. Enjoy! Wow.

Take Action

Closely examine what you do every day. How can you do it better? Get creative, but keep it manageable. In the next 24 hours, think of two new habits and commit to them for the next month.

Suggested reading: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

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Changing The Lens Of Your Life Through Your Mindset

Our mindset creates the lens of which we choose to see ourselves and the world. Our mindset influences our resilience to adversity, our ongoing curiosity and ability to grow from challenges, and our view of this life as a gift and our willingness to embrace it fully.