The Weekly Grind Newsletter - 06/08/2023
The Weekly Grind #22 - Read Time: 5 Minutes
Espresso Shots of Wisdom
‘One of the great balancing acts in life is to be cautious and daring at the same time.’
James Clear clarifies his statement positing that you should be:
Cautious enough to avoid stupid mistakes, prevent burnout, and maintain a margin of safety
yet…
Daring enough to bet on yourself, to do the things you would regret leaving undone, and to be willing to be uncomfortable in the short term so you can learn and grow in the long term.
(James Clear)
‘Never bet the farm on one horse.’
Life should consist of regular, small, yet considered gambles - this is how we learn.
We make a hypothesis, we test the hypothesis and iterate from there.
Every task, challenge or venture should fall into this category.
Want to complete an Ironman? - Begin with a sprint triathlon to test your hypothesis before wasting vast amounts of time, money and energy on something you may not enjoy.
Want to start a new coffee shop? - Test your concept with a pop-up coffee shop before leasing coffee machines, furniture and a large premises.
Want to launch a new business? - Test the market before you invest in 20000 units.
There is little danger in small gambles which we can easily recover from but going all in on the wrong bet comes with catastrophic consequences.
By investing in small bets, we can gradually increase our stake in a venture as we become more certain of our hypothesis but going all in does not offer this luxury.
Contrary to the current narrative of going all in on your passion, betting the farm is always a bad idea!
(Dave Ramsey)
‘Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.’
Impulsive, imprudent and impetuous decision making create the perfect environment for catastrophe.
Putting narrow time constraints, creating false urgency and manufacturing a sense of missing out are tactics that have been deployed by immoral salesmen to downright conmen since the dawn of time.
This Navy SEALS mantra reminds us to approach all situations with deliberate and careful consideration and that the quickest way to complete any task is to be methodical and slow.
When considering new investments, opportunities or ventures; a methodical and slow mindset will allow you to fully evaluate the merits of the opportunity while hindering you from making a reckless all in decision based on your fear of missing out.
‘Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.’
(Navy SEALS)
Cappuccino Contemplations
Would you lick honey off a razor?
In my exploration of the increased proclivity in modern society to value extrinsic rewards over intrinsic and to prioritise appeasing others over adhering to our own personal values, I was reminded by the work of Marcus Aurelius that this is a timeless problem:
“It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.”
More interestingly, I encountered the Buddhist interpretation of this phenomenon which subtly highlights many of the underlining issues in modern society:
“Tibetan Buddhist texts liken this type of addictive behavior to ‘licking honey off a razor.’ The initial sensation may be sweet, but the underlying effect is quite damaging. Seeking satisfaction in others or in external objects or events reinforces a deep and often unacknowledged belief that we, as we are, are not entirely complete; that we need something beyond ourselves in order to experience a sense of wholeness or security or stability.”
(Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche)
Next time we find ourselves people pleasing or chasing an external accolade which lies at odds with our own personal vision and virtues, we’d do well to ask the question:
‘Would you lick honey off a razor?’
The cost of focusing on winning
For most of us, success in our chosen domain follows a sustained, prolonged and persistent period of growth.
For the sports team, this may have included considerable staff and player recruitment, innovative new approaches to offence and defence and new mindsets, tactics and strategies amongst other revolutionary ideas.
What almost all improvement curves have in common is an overarching emphasis on the process.
Ironically, when most people reach success, their focus tends to switch from the process to the outcome. With this switch in mindset, the person or team now derives self-worth from the outcome and enters threat and protect mode.
In juxtaposition to those focused on the process, outcome centred individuals or teams start focusing on playing not to lose - they go from offence to defence and innovation, growth and evolution stagnate.
Steve Magness avers that the antidote to becoming outcome focused is for leaders to create an environment where people are:
Focused on getting better and moving towards mastery
Driven primarily intrinsically
Provided with a sense of security, so that a loss doesn’t feel like an attack on their worth
Allowed to have a sense of ‘play’, the very thing that got them hooked in the first place.
Americano And Chill
With the weekend upon us, I look forward to doing some writing, racing in the Tri-the-Lough event organised by Omagh Triathlon Club and watching some Yellowstone.
Have a great weekend,
David.