Less Is More In Self Development

QUOTE OF THE DAY

LESS IS MORE IN SELF DEVELOPMENT

434 Words | 1 Min 35 Sec Read

Constraints accelerate your development.

We all complain about the constraints in our own lives: too little time, not enough money, too small of a network, and barely enough resources.

And yes, some of these constraints do hold us back. However, there is also a positive side. The constraints in our lives often force us to make choices and cultivate talents that would otherwise go undeveloped. Constraints drive creativity and foster skill development.

Similar to how those in 3rd world countries such as Brazil can’t afford the abundance of toys and games that the Western world has access to as children and therefore are forced to develop their creativity at a young age.

This ultimately has an impact on their early adulthood in how their brain works, it was found that their frontal cortex (the creative part) is significantly bigger and more in use due to that exact reason.

In many ways, reaching the next level of performance is simply a matter of choosing the right constraints.

How to Choose the Right Constraints

1. Decide what specific skill you want to develop. The more specific the skill, the easier it will be to design a good constraint.

For example, you shouldn't try to develop the skill of being “good at marketing." It's too broad. Instead, focus on learning how to write compelling headlines or analyse website data—something specific and tangible.

2. Design a constraint that requires this specific skill to be used. There are three main options for designing a constraint:

• Time: Give yourself less time to accomplish a task.

• Resources (give yourself fewer resources or different resources to do a task).

• Environment. (One simple change in environment can lead to significant results.)

3. Play the game. Constraints can accelerate skill development, but they aren't a magic pill. You still need to put in your time.

Here’s the formula you can use to boost your skills…

1. Pick the broad skill you want to develop: strength, writing, chess, etc.

2. Set a schedule where you are going to practice this skill consistently over a period of time, such as going to the gym four times a week, etc.

3. Narrow back down on the basics of the skill. If you want to improve in chess, it can be pretty overwhelming, so instead, pick up an old chess strategy book and read it. Don’t play chess; just read the book 30 minutes a day, every day, until completion.

4. Here you have narrowed down your resources, not consuming a bunch of rubbish off YouTube, just learning the basics that others will be too lazy to.

And that’s how it works!

TAKEAWAYS:

Sometimes less is actually more; an example of this is Kaizen. Instead of throwing a bunch of self-improvement balls at you all the time, we just share a 2-minute email every day to help you learn something new.

And we try to do it in such a way that it's all you need to read. You don’t need to spend hours watching videos, taking notes, and consuming 100 different perspectives and opinions.

Instead, everything you need is in these daily emails.

BOOK OF THE WEEK ⤵️

The book of the week is Grit by Angela Duckworth, a book that uncovers the truth of effort vs talent and teaches you how to use grit to help you achieve greatness. Read it HERE

CREATOR OF THE WEEK ⤵️

LESSON OF THE DAY ⤵️

Life is about expanding your mind to discover what you are capable of.

This is extremely difficult when you are surrounded by people who are dedicated to staying the same.

Put your mind in an environment – physical or digital – where it is near forced to expand.

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