I've been reading the book - Feel Good Productivity on and off. Whenever I read these books, I try to make notes because otherwise I forget. If I can't remember and apply these principles, there's really no point.
I've realised that most of these books all have the same principles written different ways. In time, I'll try and compile a master list of principles.
Today I read its Chapter 5
Find Courage
Sometimes we are unable to do something we desperately want to do because of fear. And 90% of those times, we don’t even know it’s fear. We attribute it to procrastination, priorities and other things. But it’s fear. What to do to overcome the fear?
1. KNOW YOUR FEAR
Label it - It’s remarkably hard to find and word your fears.
For e.g I’ve been trying to start this blog or write, in general, for a decade. But I didn’t. I chalked it down to being busy with job, relationships, the mundane task of starting.
But I guess somewhere deep down I thought (and still think) that this is a failed endeavour. Nobody’s going to read it. A 1000 people probably write the same things, in a far more persuasive manner. It’s a waste of time and people will judge me.
Such a label makes it much easier to face that fear. If the fear is unknown, it’s much much greater.
What’s your Identity
I know this matters, I’ve learnt it matters. Let’s say I identify myself as a bad writer. It constantly plays on my mind even if I don’t think of it. Eventually it becomes me and I’m never able to write.
But what if I identify myself as a good writer. I read this is Atomic Habits too - If you constantly say to yourself ‘I’m not a smoker’ or ‘I’m a vegetarian’, eventually that becomes your identity that you aspire to live up to. So I’m a writer now.
2. REDUCE YOUR FEAR
Fear is a natural and necessary reaction. But we can learn to control it in situations where it paralyses us. For e.g. it is known that during trauma, a person suffers from cognitive paralysis where they lose their ability to function or make decisions rationally. It is commonly known in our society too. Friends and family instinctively come together to help you when you suffer a traumatic event or a huge loss, and take decisions on your behalf.
The 10/10/10 rule
We tend to make our problems much bigger than they actually are. Follow the 10/10/10 - will this problem matter in 10 min/10 weeks/ 10 years. Chances are it won’t matter in 10 years and you will gain some perspective and let it go faster than you would have.
Confidence Equation
I liked this
Confidence = Ability you think you have - Ability you think you need.
So you are under-confident if you think you don't have all the ability you need. But the thing is, you need no ability to start. But the time you need real ability, you’d have built it.
3. OVERCOME YOUR FEAR
Nobody cares what you do
We constantly overestimate what the world is thinking about us. But the truth is - they aren’t. Most people are consumed with themselves. they don’t care what you’re doing. So stop treating yourselves like the centre of the world.
The Batman Effect
Create an ideal version of yourselves, or better, find someone who you believe is the ideal version of you in a task - like an alter ego. It can be anyone - Barrack Obama, Elon Musk, Narendra Modi, Sheryl Sandberg, Deepinder Goyal, anyone really.
Pretend to be that person. It surprisingly works. You have more reserves of confidence, stamina, determination than you think, but they only appear when you imagine the person you are impersonating has them and you are forced to pull them up.
That's it for Finding Courage.
