Who wants to avoid having healthy and sustainable habits?
After all, we are what we do every day.
A simple Google search will bring up a lot of data, but choosing which framework is the best can be challenging.
However, the WHY part is always missing.
Here is a simple formula.
Everything is great in moderation. Your mind will tell you if what you do each day is worth it.
For example, let’s talk about habits. For me, habits mean:
Habits mean how to take control of your life.
Habits mean doing what is important to do.
Habits mean staying away from unnecessary noise.
Learning
FRAMEWORKS are remarkable; they are there to help you move ahead in life.
There are a gazillion books on mental models, followed by millions of tricks and hacks.
It’s the self-improvement culture; everyone wants to get better. That’s why many YouTube channels and podcasts are solely based on sharing FRAMEWORKS.
I am not against any of this, but let’s take a pause and think about practical models.
Practical models are not one-size-fits-all. They are directly attached to you, reflecting your unique path and individuality. You have the power to personalize your processes (habits), making them truly yours.
I am a voracious reader, or I would say a learner. I keep experimenting with what’s working for others and how it can help me improve my life.
I don’t share or advocate anything if it doesn’t have a direct impact on my life.
I tried many famous mental models and habit-building routines. A couple of them stuck in my life, and some were pretty famous, but I had to quit them because they did not add any value to my life.
Let’s take an example of waking up early in the morning.
I am a big believer in waking up early in the morning. I used to go to bed around 11:30 pm and wake up around 8 am. Then, I would do the basic hygiene stuff, have breakfast, and start working.
I was struggling to wake up earlier than I usually do, so I hopped on a 30-day challenge.
I truly belive if you want to try something new for the first time, you dont have to stick to it for a year.
Do one step at a time.
I love the 30-day approach to determining whether a new habit or hack will work in the long run.
The best part was that I woke up every day at the same time.
Worst part
I was happy that I was up at 6 am, finished breakfast, and showered everything within an hour. Then, I worked a little bit on my side project before the work started at 9 am.
After a few weeks, I started feeling really sleepy around 10 am, which is exactly 4 hours after I was up. Instead of improving my life, the trick of waking up at 6 am caused an issue that made me unproductive at work.
That’s why I always say that if something is working for a successful person, it might not work for you.
A practical mental model is developed through a trial-and-error approach, incorporating your own strengths and weaknesses to make them sustainable.
Remember, persistence and experimentation are key in your self-improvement journey.
You do not need to wake up at 6 am or 5 am if it does not help you boost your lifestyle. Let’s dive into the learning part.
Trial & error
I did my bachelor’s in math with a focus on CS. I am glad that it helped me develop a logical brain. I think in steps and, most of the time, numbers.
It helps me to understand if there are numbers, charts, etc.
I implemented this approach in my real life. I live my life by two fundamental approaches to moving ahead.
These approaches have always helped me get through whatever I am doing in my personal and professional lives.
These two logical approaches are enough to get whatever you want from life. They are highly practical, and like everything else, they won’t work until you have done it many times. This reminds me of Bruce Li’s quote.
“I’d rather get hit by someone who throws a thousand different punches a day than someone who throws one punch a thousand times a day.” Bruce Lee
I make sure to break a complex problem down to its fundamental, tiny parts, then use trial and error or an experimental approach to see what works for me. It’s possible that you need to pivot your approach a bit to get maximum results.
It’s also possible that the same thing won’t work for you. You might need to do the same thing many times.
Let me share a tiny story.
I was taking an abstract algebra (Group Theory) class, the professor ( I forgot his name) was from the States, he was pretty famous in Pure Math.
I remember I asked him, “Pure math is hard, logic is complex, and the assignment you gave us is especially hard to do.”
He replied, Sufyan, how many times have you tried to solve this problem?
I said at least a couple of times.
Professor: Do the same problem for at least 7 times. Make sure you take a break, maybe go on a walk, play, listen to music, or do whatever you do, but there should be a pause between these seven-time approaches.
Wolla, I solved the problem at 5th attempt.
I still remember the professor saying that you guys (students) need to pay attention to solving my problems as a dog and paying attention to the bone. lol
Wrapping up
So, to recap, how do you solve a bigger problem?
Look at problems from your perspective, learn from others, but develop your own approach in the long run.
Deconstruction: Use the first principle to break down the complex problem into the most basic ones.
Experimental: Use a trial-and-error approach to reach your desired outcome.
Action: Keep showing up, take action, and take long pauses between each try. Your brain will find another way to solve it.
My approach is not perfect, but it’s what’s helping me in almost every situation.
Use it as a reference to develop your own way of thinking.
This approach may help you solve your problem, or you might need to tweak it to find your own way. The key is to personalize your approach to habit-building, tailoring it to your own needs and preferences.
Bonus:
I am also a huge fan of the Feynman technique.
This method, developed by the famous American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, is a proven technique to learn anything.
It’s a powerful tool that can inspire and guide your learning journey.
It’s a proven technique to learn anything.
Caveat: It’s up to YOU how you use it. Don’t worry about tweaking it a bit to fit your needs. But first, give it your all ( try at least 5–7 times) to see if it might work for you.
Here is the approach to learning almost anything.
Identify a topic and write down everything you know about the subject.
Try explaining the topic to a 5-year-old child. The teaching component will help you solidify the concepts.
See if there is a knowledge gap, and redo step 2. Keep refining until you don’t need to repeat while teaching or explaining to someone else.
Organize into a simple story.
Keep testing and learning.
Use trial and error to keep iterating and refining (a little bit tweak from my side)
Don’t overcomplicate. True beauty is in simplification.
Simple is beautiful!
Books recommendations
1 — The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
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