“When confronted with a challenge, the committed heart will search for a solution. The undecided heart searches for an escape.”
– Andy Andrews
Did you know those big wigs men used to wear in the 17th century were originally used to hide the signs of syphilis (one symptom of which is hair loss)? They eventually became high fashion. But let’s be honest, they were better at hiding syphilis.
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Your Curiosity Trigger
What is your response to failure?
Disappointment? Discouragement? Or curiosity?
You could be forgiven for responding by being discouraged — that’s what most of us do. When we work hard on something and it doesn’t produce the results we had hoped for or expected, we go through a period of grief and sometimes we quit altogether.
But that’s silly, isn’t it?
Because as we already know, failure is a natural part of the process (just watch a kid who’s trying to learn to walk).
A better perspective would be curiosity — to engage the problem-solving part of our brain and ask ourselves why the thing didn’t work. There is likely a reason, after all, and by searching for it and correcting our course based on what we find, we can avoid being crippled by grief and keep moving forward despite setbacks.
So the next time you feel discouraged, flip the switch to curiosity — you’ll find that you’re more than capable of solving the problem before you.
Oh — and keep in mind what Einstein said: “A person who never makes mistakes is a person who never tried anything new.”
Making Hard Work Easy
When thinking about accomplishing our goals — building that business, losing that weight, writing that book, and so on — it’s often overwhelming to consider what we think it’ll take to get there… 16-hour workdays, a big change in diet, or hundreds of rejections.
But what if it didn’t have to be so difficult?
Tim Ferriss, the author, podcastor, and blogger, is famous for saying useful things. And one question he encourages people to ask themselves about their goals is this: If this was easy, what would it look like?
Rather than assume the road ahead is difficult and unthinkingly usher a difficult reality into existence, why not flip the script and ask ourselves what success would look like if it was easy? And perhaps usher in an easier reality for accomplishing our goals. The path we choose, after all, is inspired by the thoughts we think — and oftentimes choosing an easier, but equally successful path will not only save us heartaches and headaches, but will also increase our chances of success. To use our three examples above, maybe that means outsourcing the most time-consuming work, walking for 30 minutes per day, or writing a bit every evening.
The conclusion remains the same, but the path has fewer thorns.
Making hard work easy is possible and entirely within our perspective. Doing this will give you the gumption to shoot for the stars without feeling like you’re about to do something impossible.
*This lesson is from 101 Lessons on Growth, Success, & Practical Progress*
Seasonal consistency
Scott Oldford is a mentor, investor, and advisor for successful online businesses — as well as founder for multiple 7-figure companies of his own.
And this is an awesome email from him that put a new spin on the popularized ideas of consistency and grit…
Consistency sounds great doesn’t it?
Every month, make more money…
Every day, feel really great…
Every moment, feeling totally present…
Every minute, structured, productive…
I mean…
It works, doesn’t it?
Is someone successful because they are a genius?
OR because they are consistent?
It’s likely neither.
Consistency isn’t possible.
Fall isn’t Summer.
Summer isn’t Winter
Consistency overrides the way the universe operates.
Yet, most of the time, we desire it so deeply.
To wake up and know what to expect.
To have a business and know it works.
To have a relationship that will be the same yesterday, today.
To have consistency fulfills our desire of certainty.
Which is a pursuit that will always fail.
So…
When you believe that you should post every day on Instagram.
When you believe every month should be massive.
When you believe you should always be on.
Remember…
That you can be consistent in a season.
You can’t be consistent for your whole life.
Unless that consistency is embodied in the knowledge that you’ll just consistently wake up and be who you’re supposed to be for the season you’re in.
Embrace what’s next.
Embrace the past.
Embrace the moment.
This Week’s Image
This Week’s Riddle
Here’s this week’s riddle — the answer is at the bottom of the email!
What is black when you buy it, bright orange when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?
This Week’s Journaling Prompt
Take some time to think through the following journaling prompt.
What causes your negative self-talk? And how can you work to reverse it?
This Week’s Challenge
Recess is a well-protected tradition in elementary schools. And then in middle school or high school and well into adulthood, we toss recess out and label it as something that’s only for children. How silly! Do we really take ourselves so seriously that we consider ourselves above playing outside? Are the needs of children really all that different from our own? According to Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, Professor of Developmental Psychology at New York University, “Children that aren’t allowed to play experience a loss of self-motivation and they run the risk of burn-out.”
Sound familiar?
Schedule some time to play outside this week — whether it’s romping with your kid, running with your dog, playing with your spouse, or attending a pick-up game of Ultimate Frisbee, it’s time well-spent.
Riddle Answer: Charcoal