Danny Miranda

for those in pursuit of their highest version

Yes, Your Phone Is Making You Dumber

by Leave a Comment

I’m amazed.

Simply by my own ability to consume stuff that sucks.

When I say “sucks,” I mean anything “not improving my life in any way.”

What my high school acquaintances are doing is probably not making me smarter.

Watching people own pet tigers is probably not making me smarter.

Scrolling through Twitter for the gazillionth time today is most definitely not making me smarter.

The purpose of life isn’t for every piece of content you consume to make you smarter (obviously). I’m not suggesting as much.

But I’m surprised at how easily my monkey mind has been trained to use these platforms for mindless consumption rather than productive tasks.

Something tells me I’m not the only one.

The Ephemeral Nature of Technology

Technology leads us to mindless consumption. Mindless consumption is ephemeral.

It wasn’t until I read this article from Nat Eliason on the ephemerality of social media did I understand what really bothered me about Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram:

“The more ephemeral a piece of information is, the less likely it is to be valuable.”

How do you know a piece of content is ephemeral?

It’s gone quickly.

A Facebook status, tweet, or Instagram post will last for a maximum of two days.

Contrast that with a good book. It might last a few hundred (or thousand) years! Even a resource published ten years ago (that is still recommended today) likely has an incredible amount of value.

Why does it matter?

The goal of social media is to get and keep your attention. Ways to get someone’s attention include making outlandish claims, doing ridiculous stunts, or being controversial.

The goal of a book is typically to inform or teach. Sure, a book can try to do the same as a social media post. But unless it is valuable, it is unlikely the book will be passed on.

There is also the cost of creating a book. It costs the author more time to create it. It costs the reader money to purchase. This higher cost of entry means it is already more likely to be valuable.

The Price of Social Media

Social media feels good. Apps make you feel like there’s always breaking news. Scrolling becomes a habit, an escape from reality – and often from what you really need to do. You almost never get long-term benefits from your use.

But the use of social media is costly. Take this study, for example, that tracked participants in 2018 before the U.S. midterm elections:

Facebook users, randomized to deactivate their accounts for 4 weeks in exchange for $102, freed up an average of 60 minutes a day, spent more time socializing offline, became less politically polarized, and reported improved subjective well-being relative to controls.

So, you could have more free time, more in-person relationships, less politically charged, and increase your wellbeing? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

The Dangers of Multitasking

In a world of the past (the one without apps and screens trying to addict you), you were either focusing on one task or the other.

You could decide to read a book or watch a movie. Your mind wasn’t flipping between the activities every few seconds – it had one task.

But today, you can toss on Netflix, browse through the news, and find out about Einstein’s theory of relativity – all at the same time.

We have come to believe this is a positive.

That all this information has to be making us smarter and more productive. That we are consuming more, so we’re better off for it.

As it turns out, the evidence isn’t so clear.

Your Phone Is Making You Dumber

Some smart scientists set out to answer the question: what happens when your phone lights up while you’re doing something?

A 2015 study found that when people’s phones beep or buzz while they’re in the middle of a challenging task, their focus wavers and their work gets sloppier. (A different 2015 study showed when people’s phones ring but they are unable to answer it, their blood pressures spike, their pulse quickens, and their problem-solving skills decline.)

But then, some other ridiculously smart researchers asked another interesting question: what would happen to the quality of work when someone’s phone was merely present – not buzzing or ringing?

A 2017 study gave 520 undergraduate students tests that measured for focus and problem-solving. The students were placed in one of three experimental groups. They were to put their phones either: (1) in front of them, (2) in their pockets or handbags, (3) in a different room.

The results?

“As the phone’s proximity increased, brainpower decreased.”

Meaning? The further someone’s phone was from them, the smarter they got. 

They’re not the only ones to come to this conclusion.

Several creators have figured this out (David Perell, Tim Urban, and Mark Rober):

Ways to Decrease Mindless Consumption

We have determined ephemeral content leads to mindless consumption. What are we going to do about it? What are ways we can stop this cycle in its tracks so we can produce quality work?

Here are some of the ways I am attempting to decrease my mindless consumption:

Don’t check your phone, social media, or email before noon

This is a rule I’ve put into place over the past month, and I’ve seen the dividends almost immediately. My productivity has skyrocketed. I’m doing more of what I want to be doing. I’m getting more done.

Your phone, social media, and email are powerful tools for connecting with the world. But if you’re playing around with these powerful tools before you work on your own stuff, you’re risking getting sucked into someone else’s to-do list.  

Full screen mode (and only use one tab at a time)

For every tab you have open, the more your attention drifts from your one main task.

I believe full screen mode works because it signals to your mind: “This is the only thing we’re working on. Focus.”

Similar to how the mere presence of a phone makes us dumber, I wonder if the presence of a URL bar and open tabs make us dumber as well. A study on this would be incredibly interesting.

Eliminate all social media apps from your phone

The iPhone was originally only meant for a few functions: “to call, text, and listen to music.” Today, we are overwhelmed with the number of apps you can use. It’s the world’s most powerful computer in your pocket. Which makes it dangerous if you’re not careful.

Deleting social media from your phone is one way to make sure you’re not getting the “quick fix” of the drug.

Keep your phone on airplane mode 

Some people keep their default setting on Do Not Disturb.

I’ve found Airplane Mode is even more effective.

(Of course, one potential downside is this makes it harder to reach you. It’s best to let your family and friends know you’re doing this before you do it.)

Curate your feed

British anthropologist Robin Dunbar has proposed human beings can only maintain connections with anywhere from 100-250 other people.

The commonly cited figure for Dunbar’s number is 150.

Dunbar explains it informally as “the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar.”

This applies as much to social media as it does to real life.

If you know you can only make real connections with 150 people, does it make sense to follow 1,000 people? Curate your feed so you’re following fewer, more valuable resources.

Stop following the news

Follow the news for any period of time, and you are certain to get depressed – or at the very least anxious about the future.

AllSides.com gives the left, right, and center perspective on different trending topics. Checking this once per day (or week) will keep you informed without having to drag your mind down.

Bill Maher said it best when he tweeted: “We need the news to calm down and treat us like adults.”

My typical rule is: If it’s that important, someone will tell you.

Set your phone to grayscale

Have you ever seen a slot machine? That’s what my phone normally looks like. Vibrant colors galore. Apps screaming – “CLICK ME!” 

This tactic is simple: you make your phone as boring as possible, you won’t want to use it. If you don’t use it as often, maybe you’ll get smarter?

How to do this on your iPhone: (1) Open Settings, (2) open General, (3) choose Accessibility, (4) choose Display Accommodations (5) select Color Filters (6) toggle Color Filters On (7) select Grayscale.

Chrome app: Kill News Feed

If you don’t want to engage in the latest political debate on Facebook, this is a great option. I forgot I had a News Feed after having this app installed for the past year. (This is a less dramatic version of deleting Facebook entirely. If you want to delete or deactivate your Facebook, you should check out this article.)

Chrome app: Hide Recommendations

YouTube can be a time suck. But it can still be useful. Downloading this Chrome app has made it less likely to get pulled into a YouTube black hole. Check out the difference:

Freedom.to

I caught myself instinctively typing in “gm” (for gmail.com) and “tw” (twitter.com) into the URL bar one too many times.

So I downloaded the Freedom app (recommended in Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport). I can never imagine myself not using this tool.

What Do You Consume To Make You Better?

We’ve determined your inputs lead to your outputs. We need to ensure that our inputs are helping us learn, grow, and expand.

Here are a few things I’m consuming that are (hopefully?) making me smarter:

  • Books. Interesting ideas that have been thought out, revised, and edited will typically outvalue tweets and Instagram posts.
  • For the Interested newsletter. This is a newsletter dedicated to helping you “produce, promote, and profit from your creations.” It’s really good, and I highly recommend it.
  • The Tej Dosa Letter. Costs $7/month but might be the best investment you ever make. Focus is on marketing/business, but truly any person would gain a greater understanding of life from reading this. 
  • Deep conversations with friends and family. Try reaching out to friends you haven’t spoke to in a while and get deeper than the surface level, “How are you doing?” Ask questions like, “Who’s influenced you the most?” or “What’s your greatest accomplishment to date and why?”

These tend to be longer form ideas, more thought out, and as a result, more likely to be valuable.

In Summary

  1. Technology leads you to consume ephemeral content.
  2. The more thought that went into a piece of content, the more likely it is valuable.
  3. Your phone makes you dumber. If you’re doing any type of creative work, the further it is away from you, the smarter you will get.
  4. Set rules in place in order to maximize the time you spend on digital devices.
  5. Utilize Chrome extensions and Freedom.to to decrease mindless consumption.
  6. Replace mindless consumption with interesting resources and ideas.

Introducing: Streaks

by Leave a Comment

This website is about you. It’s about optimizing your habits. And you becoming the best version of yourself.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You (and I) have heard everyone say that.

How can I prove it?

Introducing: Streaks

There have been two major themes when I’ve been at my best in life (“firing on all cylinders” as the kids like to say):

  1. I was on a streak — doing the same habit(s) day after day. Building a routine.
  2. I was accountable for my streak — other people were aware I was building this streak. I didn’t want to let myself down (or them!).

So why not use this website as a way to create that process for myself and YOU.

Here’s how it works:

  1. You email danny [at] dannymiranda [dot] com with the streak you want to create. Title: Streak: [Insert Your Habit Here]
  2. Include your social media handle (or your website) and time zone.
  3. Every day, respond to your initial email and say you’ve completed your task. If you fail to respond to the thread each day, your streak will be removed. You have until 11:59pm to report your submission. If you report you’ve completed your streak at midnight, this will NOT count. You can submit a new one any time you’d like.
  4. Streaks will be updated at 3 p.m. EST the following day at dannymiranda.com/streaks – you can track your progress (and others) there!

What streak should you try?

This is about what you’re trying to accomplish right now.

It could be as simple as one minute of meditation. It could be 75HARD. It could be 10 pages of reading. It could be waking up every day at the same time. The possibilities are endless in terms of ways to improve yourself.

Here are a couple of recommendations:

  • Make it something you can control (“10 minutes meditation” > “Feel more peaceful”)
  • Make it something you can measure (“45 minute workout” > “Workout”)
  • Make it an action, not a result (“Clean diet” > “Lose 20 pounds”)

Why Streaks?

If you want to change your life, change your habits.

A lot of people want to change their life. But they fail to change their habits because they don’t (1) build momentum by creating a streak and (2) are not accountable in public if they fail. (I’ve been there too many times.)

Streaks changes that.

You are publicly incentivized to stay on the top of the leaderboard. Every day you continue to build your streak, you will be changing your identity (and changing your life). You will also have an updated spot on the leaderboard.

The more reasons you have to do a habit, the more likely you will be to do it — even when you don’t feel like it (which will create discipline). Soon enough, you’re someone who does what they need to do, even when they don’t feel like doing it.

I’ve experimented with all types of ways to improve. But I’ve found the best way to get better is by building momentum while being accountable to others.

Why am I doing this?

The goal of this website is to build a community of people who are in pursuit of a better version. I am interested in getting to know people who build positive habits. I want to talk to these people. I want to learn from these people. “These people” could be you.

What if you lie?

The only person you’re hurting is yourself.

In Summary

  1. Shoot me an email at danny [at] dannymiranda [dot] com with the habit you want to track.
  2. Title of email: Streak: [Insert Your Habit Here]
  3. Include social media or website.
  4. Send me an email every day by midnight (your time!) saying you completed your task.
  5. Track yours (and others) streaks on this page.

To your success,

Danny

Medium-Term Goals

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever had a massive goal but then took no action on it?

There is one big reason why I believe people don’t even attempt a goal.

The goal seems too big.

Set Huge Goals?

Common advice:

Set massive goals.

It’s typical to hear someone say… “You can accomplish anything you set your mind to.” And while this is an important mindset to harness – especially when doing difficult things – it can seem almost patronizing if you haven’t even started your journey.

Take an individual who is trying to get into running.

Let’s say it’s difficult to run around the block without getting winded. But you hear people say, “Make your goal huge!”

So, you decide your goal is going to be to run an ultramarathon.

One question you could ask is: “How am I supposed to set a goal of running an ultramarathon if I can’t even do a lap around my block?”

That’s a great question.

And my answer to that is: “You shouldn’t… if the huge goal demotivates you. If it excites you, carry on.”

When you set goals so big, so far away from your current reality, it’s easy to look at that reality as impossibility. Because it is impossible. Right now.

The truth is setting a goal of running an ultramarathon might push you in the opposite direction. It might paralyze you from taking action in the day to day.

This is the same for any type of massive goal.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set it.

So, change your focus.

Notre Dame PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY sign

Should I Focus on the Day-to-Day?

One way to do that is to just think about that day or that week.

Notre Dame football is known for a phrase:

“Play Like A Champion Today”

Today.

There’s no reason to worry about if you didn’t go running yesterday.

Instead of thinking about the mountain you’re going to climb, think about the next step. If you can take a single step, you can keep going.

The reason this works is because it is inherently practical.

Your goal is to win the moment. You can’t win that moment by focusing on yesterday or tomorrow. In order to get better, to get to where you want to go… you need to lock in on that single day.

Although this is good advice, I believe it’s incomplete.

The Notre Dame football team can play like a champion today because they have the long-term goal of winning the College Football Playoff. They already put the practice on a daily basis.

The reason “Play Like A Champion Today” works is because it narrows their focus to what they can control – that day.

But if you haven’t started your journey, or you’re just getting started…

There’s something missing from the equation that most people don’t talk about.

That is…

Medium-Term Goals

Everyone talks about short-term goals (daily or weekly). Everyone talks about long term-goals (the big win).

These are both important.

But from my experience, when you’re just getting started, “medium-term goals” are the best way to get from where you are to where you want to be.

What do I mean by “medium term goals”?

These are goals that help you connect the day and years. They are the goals in between the short and long term. Hence the name. Medium.

For example, let’s go back to the running example. You know on the day-to-day, you want to run. You know in the long term, you wanted to be an ultramarathoner.

But what’s something that helps connect the short-term goal with the long-term goal?

It just so happens there’s a 5K Run in your area in 12 weeks.

That’s your medium-term goal.

“I will run a 5K race in 12 weeks” would be a perfect medium-term goal.

It helps give you a vision for where you want to be. You can see how your daily actions will lead you to where you want to go. And it helps connect your aspirations of long-distance running to the day-to-day.

The medium-term goal makes sense because it is practical. You can wrap your head around it.

Eventually, you’re going to complete your medium-term goal though.

What Should You Do After the Medium-Term Goal Is Complete?

Set a new medium-term goal.

In the above example, it could be as simple as running a 10K in a few months away. Take the next step up. Or it could be a half-marathon.

The medium-term goal (5K in 12 weeks) is NOT the long-term goal. That’s where it’s easy to make the mistake – and not follow through with your plan of becoming an ultramarathoner.

Feel good about accomplishing your goal. Be happy and proud of yourself. Then go to the next step.

Short, Medium, and Long-Term Are All Necessary

If you don’t have short, medium, and long-term goals, it’s much more difficult to stay with a habit.

If you only focused on the day-to-day, you’d start running one day.

“Wow, this is fun!”

You’d get excited because it was a new activity. Then, you might quit after it got difficult because you had nothing to look forward to.

If you only focused on the long term, you’d start running because you had this big goal.

“Wow, I’m going to be an ultramarathoner one day!”

You’d be excited to take some steps to achieve it initially. And then you’d stop once you realized how hard it actually was.

Let’s imagine you had the short and medium goals but didn’t have the long-term goals. You’d run daily, complete your 5K and stop running. You would need a longer-term goal to keep pushing you forward.

If you had a medium-term and long-term goal but had no short-term actions, you’d never actually get your butt off the couch.

When Your Reward Is the Action (When You Don’t Need Medium Term Goals)

Are medium term goals always necessary? Are goals always necessary at all?

Here’s my theory: when you’ve been doing an activity for a while, medium-term and long-term goals will still help motivate your behavior, but you’ll find the process of doing the activity turns out to be the reward.

When you can find joy in doing the activity, you find less need for goals.

And that should be the level we all strive for, right?

To get to a point where doing the activity itself is the reward.

Summary

  1. Setting huge goals can lead you to paralysis by analysis. They can demotivate you and eventually hurt you when you’re first starting out.
  2. Daily goals, focusing on what you can control, are good but insufficient.
  3. Long term goals are beneficial as well but setting them without medium term goals can be costly.
  4. Medium-term goals are goals that connect your short term and long term. They are neither daily actions nor are they the “end state” you’re hoping to achieve.
  5. If you’ve completed your first medium-term goal, you should set another one to build momentum.
  6. Eventually, you get to the point where the action becomes the reward.

How To Build Your Morning Routine & Control Your Life Using Linking

by 1 Comment

I sat down for my daily meditation.

After my mind settled into nothing, I quickly thought of Naval.

I thought about Naval talking to Joe Rogan about meditation. I thought about Naval not doing any speaking engagements, wondering if that gave him more time to focus on his thoughts. I thought about Naval’s 60-day meditation challenge. I thought about what Naval would think about me doing a 10-minute meditation instead of his typical 60-minute session.

As I was watching myself think, I laughed.

It was clear I linked Naval to meditation.

Woah.

This was an interesting insight.

Because if I linked Naval to meditation, what else am I linking together? And how I can purposely link things together for my own benefit to produce greater habits and a stronger life?

What Is Linking?

On the Internet, links are used to connect one site to the next. Most webpages link to others, which can create an endless “rabbit hole” for you to explore on the Internet.

Weirdly enough, our mind does this too.

Our mind has one thought (one webpage) which takes us to another thought (another webpage). This leads us to think about something new (a separate webpage). All of a sudden, we’ve played telephone to the point where we’re thinking of something completely unrelated to that first thought.

We are linking all the time.

Constantly.

In action, it might look like this:

*Checks phone* Wow, nobody texted me. I guess nobody is thinking of me. I guess nobody likes me. I guess I’m lonely. I guess I’m going to die alone.

Yes, it sounds crazy, when it’s written out.

But this is what our mind does. Sometimes you’re in a loop you didn’t start and can’t control.

It’s because our mind is always looking for links.

Morning Routine

If you can link positive habits together in the morning, you can start your day on the right foot. Then, after your Morning Routine is over, you can start linking positive thoughts together instead of negative ones. This creates a chain that could lead you down a completely different day which can lead you to a different week, to a month, to a different year, to a different life.

I could get lost in social media all day.

I was conditioned to was check my notifications and text messages first thing in the morning. I’ve since learned this puts me in a reactive state to start the day.

My mind is ready to attach to any thought loop and go down that rabbit hole in the morning. So why not make those thoughts positive and empowering?

Here’s another reason for a Morning Routine: We have been least influenced by the world around us when we wake up. You haven’t spent any time on social media, listening to your friends, or watching the news. This means you can effectively brainwash yourself. And it’s important to do so by linking the morning together.

Linking the Morning Together

Professional athletes warm-up for games. If your life is a game, why wouldn’t you want to prime yourself for it?

Not only does a Morning Routine help us link together positive day, it also helps us complete the Morning Routine itself.

I’ve created some useful links that help me create the type of day I want to create. Feel free to use these, disregard them, or enjoy them:

Waking up in the morning to drinking water.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I often realize is… “Damn, I’m thirsty.” My phone is in a different room (if it was available for me to grab, I would). That water brings some life back into me. It wakes me up a little bit. But, I’m still not fully there.

That first sip to Wim Hof breathing.

Wim Hof breathing is awesome. It takes about 10-15 minutes and it really wakes me up. After I’ve completed my Wim Hof breathing, I’ve convinced myself the only appropriate task to do is meditate.

Wim Hof breathing to meditation

Meditation stills the mind (similar to Wim Hof breathing) and allows me to watch my brain work for 10-20 minutes. Tapping into nothingness is key to create anything.

Meditation to visualization

Visualization primes your mind to experience the world you would like to see. There’s a reason why visualization is so common amongst the world’s most successful people. It’s because it works.

*

These all take about 30-45 minutes. I only need to wake up and drink water to set this whole process in motion, because I’ve linked one routine to the next. The less thinking, the better.

Links To Create

Linking is an excellent way to control your morning, but it’s not the only time you can use it to your advantage. You can use it throughout the day to maximize your enjoyment from life.

Walking through doors to high energy – I got this one from Tej Dosa. Think about how many doors you walk through throughout the day – whether it be your bedroom, bathroom, or front door. If you linked “high energy” to walking through these doors, how much brighter would your life experience be? It’s simple and effective.

Brushing your teeth to a personal affirmation – Post a personal affirmation on the mirror to your bathroom, that way you’re guaranteed to see it at least twice daily.

Hot beverage to writing – I’m currently working on my writing habit. So, it’s helpful to have a trigger. I’ve settled with a coffee or tea. If I have one of these in my hand, it reminds me that it’s time to write.

Links to Destroy

Waking up to checking my phone – As previously discussed, this link was a potent one because it set me up to experience the day someone else wanted me to have. Now I use my phone as a tool to reward myself after having completed what I was supposed to for the day.

Checking my phone within an hour of bed – For years, I’ve had trouble with my sleep. One of the reasons why, is my mind goes seemingly endless thought loops. This is likely because I’ve put so much stuff into my brain.

Opening web browser to social media – One of my least helpful habits I have is immediately typing in “tw” for twitter.com or “fa” for facebook.com or “gm” for gmail.com. These have happened over time. In order to help myself with these links, I’m currently playing around with the app called Freedom. Freedom can block websites and apps you don’t want to use for set amounts of time. I have blocked a bunch of sites I use to procrastinate. Occasionally, it blocks a useful research link I might want to check out, but so far it’s saved me far more often than it hurt me.

The point is to notice if you do anything often, you can use that opportunity to improve your life in some way by linking.

*

We have so many links throughout the day. If you practice the art of watching your mind think (meditation), you can potentially pick up on these and make the necessary adjustments.

A good clue is when you ask yourself: “Wow, where did all that time go?”

As algorithms have gotten stronger to keep you on platforms, it’s important – more than ever – to use your own links to create the day you want to create.

This is about recapturing your life to make sure you’re living the way you want to be living.

If you don’t control your life, someone else will.

P.S. If you have any useful links to share, drop them down below!

The Psychology of Challenges: Why Do Challenges Work?

by Leave a Comment

Everywhere you look, you’ll find a challenge.

Pushup challenge. Mental toughness challenge. Digital declutter challenge. Meditation challenge. And on and on and on.

So, I was curious…

Do these challenges actually work? Why do so many exist? Are they an effective way to change behavior? And, if so, how can we continue to implement the desired behavior even when the challenge is over?

How do these challenges work?

Typically, a challenge is associated with a timeframe.

75HARD (75 days), Whole30 (30 days).

You engage in the behavior(s) you want to change for a set amount of time. You are making no commitments about what you’ll do after the time period is up.

These challenges are typically associated with behavior that has long term benefits but might be more difficult to do in the short term. (For example, I have yet to hear of a “30-Day Check Social Media Challenge” or a “30-Day Smoking Challenge.”)

Seems simple enough, right?

How long does it take to form a habit?

To understand these challenges, it might first make sense to explore habits.

Because the purpose of a challenge, after all, is to change your habits.

Sometimes, it’s to change your habits for a specific time period but, most likely, it’s to change your habits for the long term.

You are doing X but doing Y might prove more beneficial.

So, the question becomes, how many days does it take for you to build a habit?

Many people believe it is 21 days.

The “21 days” myth comes from Maxwell Maltz – a plastic surgeon in the 1950s – who wrote a best-selling book called Psycho-Cybernetics.

In the book, he suggested it took a minimum of 21 days for his patients to notice the physical changes that were made. Along with his own observations about himself, he stated:

“These, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.”

It wasn’t 21 days. It was a minimum of 21 days.

It turns out the research backs this up.

A 2009 study on habit formation might be the best indicator Maltz was onto something.

It took individuals anywhere from 18 to 254 days for the behavior in the study to be considered a habit. On average, it took participants 66 days for the habit to form.

Perhaps the most interesting part about this study was that missing one opportunity to perform a behavior did not affect the habit formation process.

Meaning, if you goal is to go to the gym three times per week, and you only go twice, there’s no reason to beat yourself up. From a practical perspective (there’s nothing you can do about it now, just focus on the next action). But, also from a scientific one as well (it will have no impact on your long-term goal of going three times per week).

Why do these challenges exist in the first place?

1.  It’s good marketing.

The reason it’s popular is because it’s easy to market.

10 days. 21 days. 30 days.

These are all figures we can wrap our heads around.

Have you heard of a 66-day challenge though?

Of course not.

Even though the study quoted above found this is the amount of time, on average, it takes to form a habit… it doesn’t sound as good.

2. The frog in boiling water.

There was once a popular notion that if you stuck a frog in a pot of boiling water, it would jump out. But if you put a frog in medium temperature water and slowly increased the temperature to boiling hot, it would stay in the pot and boil to death. (Although modern science has disproved this fable, it is this same principle that is at work when you are trying to change your habits.)

If someone wants you to engage in a different behavior, it’d be hard for them to say…

“Do this forever!”

That would be the equivalent of sticking you in boiling hot water. You’d never want to do it. It seems hard.

Instead, they change their approach…

“Try this for 30 days.”

This is the implicit agreement you are making when you decide to do the challenge is that it won’t be forever.

It seems easy. It seems doable.

But perhaps by the time the 30 days is complete, you could actually see yourself doing the challenge “forever.”

3. It helps those around us understand.

Jordan Syatt is a personal trainer.

In 2019, he made the decision not to drink alcohol. It’s not that he was addicted to alcohol. He simply found the behavior unnecessary and expensive. He wanted to change it.

His anecdotal evidence about his own experience is certainly interesting…

When he was at the bar, he would tell the people he was with he wasn’t drinking.

But it was hard for them to accept…

They tried to pressure him into having a drink: “C’mon man! Have a drink. It won’t kill you!”

However, when he told people it was a “challenge,” they understood and didn’t question it.

Now, of course, Jordan is a sample size of one.

But it does help explain the psychology of challenges, why they work, and why they are so popular.

They are not just for us, but to help explain in a succinct way to other people why we’re not acting like them in that particular moment.

What are the downsides to challenges?

1. Psychologically, it creates a light switch in your head.

There is the time you are “on the challenge” and time you are “off the challenge.”

This is potentially troubling.

Yo-yo dieting is a cycle in which something triggers you to lose weight, which causes you to start an exercise/diet plan, you lose some weight, then life gets in the way and your old eating habits return.

The problem with yo-yo dieting is you only introduce healthy eating habits and exercise when you have a problem. This means constantly experiencing drastic fluctuations in weight, going up and down – like a yo-yo.

When you are “off the diet,” you feel free reign to eat anything you want and stop exercising. When you are “on the diet,” you strictly adhere to everything.

Challenges may work in similar ways. Instead of adapting the habits for a better life indefinitely, we assign days to be “on” or “off”. Then, when the day the challenge is over, it gives us the “out” to go back to our normal habits.

2. Habit change may not have occurred by the time you are done with the challenge.

As we know, it might take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a habit to form, depending on the individual and the habit.

Many challenges you’ll find are on the shorter timeframe – 10 days, 28 days, 30 days. As previously discussed though, there are few people who are marketing a 66-day challenge. This is, on average, how long it takes for habits to form. But it’s not catchy though.

3. A challenge might give you a “quick fix,” but will it create sustainable progress?

Take a 10-Day Juice Fast, for example.

Although you will certainly lose weight if you follow this protocol, will it make you more likely to binge on Day 11?

Our society often rewards short-term fixes as opposed to slower and more sustainable.

How can we continue to implement the desired behavior after the challenge is over?

The intent of challenges is to change behavior.

If we accept the purpose of a challenge is not to only do the activity while doing the challenge, but also when you’re off the challenge – then we must consider how to optimize for when you’re off it.

1. Associate triggers for certain activities.

Before we do certain activities, we are triggered to do them. Sometimes, these triggers are conscious. Other times, we are completely unaware of them.

For example, some people take pre-workout powder before they go to the gym. This is their cue that they are about to exercise.

How you can apply it: Let’s say your challenge is a 30-day workout challenge. Consciously make your cue something easy. Something as simple as putting on your gym clothes or listening to a song. Then, immediately after you do this, go to the gym or start your exercise. This way, you will associate putting on your workout clothes or listening to a specific song (something that takes little effort) with doing the workout (something that may seem hard). Once you’ve made this mental connection, you will associate your trigger with the actual task you want to accomplish even when your challenge is complete.

2. Use the Paperclip Strategy (via James Clear).

Trent Dyrsmid was a rookie stockbroker, so nobody expected much out of him in Canada. But he quickly closed big deals, rising through the ranks of his company.

So, what was his strategy?

Here’s what he did:

He would begin each morning with 120 paper clips in one jar. Then, as he made sales calls, he would move the 120 paper clips from one jar to the other.

This visual cue was enough to make a massive difference.

How you can apply it: If you are doing a 30-day challenge, have a paperclip for each day. Then, add some more paperclips. The key is to add more than the number of days the challenge is for. After the 30 days are complete, you will be inclined to keep putting paperclips from one jar to the other.

3. The “10 Minute Rule.”

This rule takes advantage of Newton’s first law of motion:

Object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion.

If you don’t feel like doing an activity, try doing it for only 10 minutes. Give yourself absolute permission to stop.

The reason why challenges often exist is because they make us do hard things we otherwise wouldn’t want to do.

But if you only have to do an activity for 10 minutes…

Often, you’ll want to keep going.

I shamelessly stole this from Josiah Novak (who first tweeted about it on April 22, 2019):

How you can apply it: Let’s say your challenge is reading 10 pages per day for 28 days. After the month is complete, try getting yourself to read for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you can stop.

***

If you used this post to help you make a decision on whether or not you should pursue a challenge, drop a comment down below.

Why A Holocaust Survivor & Navy SEAL Share The Same Mindset (Thoughts on COVID-19)

by 1 Comment

Light can come out of darkness.

The statement might seem odd.

But our world is facing a particularly troubling reality. The likes of which we have not seen in generations.

It is a dark reality.

However, if history is any indication, lightness will come out of the dark.

Viktor Frankl once wrote:

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Frankl is describing the light that occurred during one of the darkest periods of humanity – the Holocaust.

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl outlined the notion that human beings can withstand the most brutal forms of darkness so long as they can imagine a brighter future.

The situation we face today is not the Holocaust. It is not human beings torturing and killing other human beings.

However, it is darkness, nonetheless.

It appears out of darkness, infinite wisdom can come.

Because there is another man, who has come face-to-face some of the darkest aspects of human nature.

His name is Jocko Willink.

He created a video entitled “GOOD.”

More than ever, the video applies to our present conditions today.

The premise is this:

“When things are going bad, there’s going to be some good that comes from it.”

Jocko addresses the reality:

If you can say the word “GOOD,” guess what? It means you’re still alive. It means you’re still breathing. And if you’re still breathing, well then hell, it means you got some fight left in you. So, get up, dust off, reload, recalibrate, reengage. And go out on the attack.”

Jocko is a light that has come out of the Iraq War.

Personal Perspective on COVID-19

Now, I’ve lived quite a sheltered life compared to the men highlighted above. These are two brilliant thinkers, who have been through some real shit.

I’m grateful for their ideas, because, in many ways, my philosophies have been shaped by them.

But nonetheless, two different friends have asked me…

What’s your take on this whole situation?

First off, it’s gratitude. It starts with gratitude. It always starts with gratitude, right? Grateful that I got the opportunity to go to sports games with them. Grateful that I got the opportunity to go to bars with them. Grateful that, at one point, we could enjoy each other’s company without a care in the world. Grateful for what appeared normal. Grateful they are safe, in this moment, because this moment is all there is.

Secondly, it’s that life will get better. As a society, we will find ways to adapt. And although it may not be easy, we will grow from this. We will take advantage of new technologies, we will figure out new ways of doing things, and we will become stronger.

This, I am absolutely sure of.

All we need to do is look at the past 20 years. Since 2000, the world has been shocked twice. First, 9/11. Second, the 2008 recession. If you are able to use these two as case studies, you can see that the world did in fact “revert back to normal.”

Who knows if the reality we live in past 2020 will be what we considered normal before, but we shall keep in mind that this, too, will pass.

At this moment, the world might appear dark.

If previous examples tell us anything, it’s that the darkness will eventually evaporate. And we will overcome.

But, now, more than ever, you can be a beacon of light.

You can be someone who spreads love, even if just for a second.

Because that second can bring someone joy for longer than we might be able to comprehend.

No story better illustrates that concept than this one:

The city of Leningrad was surrounded for 872 days by Germany during World War II. It caused extreme famine due to the loss of utilities, water, energy, and food supply.

During that time, a young girl went out to pick up her serving of bread.

After she picked it up, she fell on the slippery roads. Her bread dropped into the mud.

She wept.

Another woman walked up behind the young girl. The older woman picked the young girl up. She tore her own bread in half and gave the piece to the young girl.

Afterward, the young girl said that the older woman’s gesture gave her the spirit to continue on for the next year and a half.

This is why, always, it is important to be kind to our fellow human being.

Opportunities like today, where the world is going through pain, remind us how important it is to pick each other up when we fall.

Practical Ways To Become The Light

The question becomes…

How can you become that light?

Here are some tools that have helped me (that I go back to whenever I feel darkness creeping in):

  • Stop for a minute, twenty, or sixty. You can call it meditating if you want. Limit your inputs to connect you to all that there is. This has been the best way I’ve found to reset in these hectic times.
  • Go outside. Observe nature. If you stay inside all day, you’ll lose your mind. Smile at the diversity of all that was created before you were born and all there will be after you die.
  • Feel the presence of your neighbors outside. Give them a smile. Say hi. Saying hello to others connects us.
  • Understand routines might be broken. Smile at your old habits and help yourself create new ones. Maybe these will better serve you?
  • Reach out to friends and family you haven’t spoken to in a while. Especially your grandparents or older relatives. People are more isolated than ever before, but we don’t need to be more disconnected as well.
  • Offer to get groceries for your elderly neighbors. They might not be able to go to the supermarket. And they’ll appreciate it.
  • Remind yourself to smile at least three times per day. It’s been proven scientifically that smiling creates happiness. Which is weird. Try being unhappy while smiling. It’s more difficult than you think.
  • Stay active. I’ve never done home workouts for any significant amount of time until recently. It’s been nice to use this as a time to be productive, not to wallow.
  • Do a challenge. You can do 75HARD (there’s no better time) or create/make your own. Get some likeminded people and be accountable to each other. That way you’ll stay connected while moving yourself forward in some way.

Examples of Lightness in the Dark

You don’t need to search far or wide to find examples of lightness throughout the world in these dark times.

Here are some examples of it:

  • Woman Helps Elderly Couple Buy Groceries

Even though business is down 45% for The Curry Pizza Co., that didn’t stop owner Malhi Singer from sending pizzas to all health care workers for a week.

“We see all the (healthcare) industry working hard right now, and everybody else is sitting at home,” Singer said. “They don’t have a choice to sit home.”

  • Neighbors Open Windows, Cheer for Health Care Workers And Spread Music

In cities across the world, neighbors have opened their windows to communicate. Together, they spread music, joy, and appreciation for workers on the front lines.

  • Gary Vaynerchuk Looks to Donate Masks to Hospitals While Helping People Who Lost Jobs

*

You don’t need to have money to be a light in this world.

You actually don’t need to have anything at all.

You simply need to open yourself to the possibility of holding love.

The rest will take care of itself.

Filed Under: Uncategorized