It's hard to fight Mother Nature.
Willpower isn't always enough.
The trick is recognizing that you can create conditions that make your success much more likely.
No matter how much internal resolve you have, changing the story you tell yourself, and the environment you create for yourself, are reliable ways to make meaningful and lasting change.
Is How You Do Something, How You Do Everything?
On some level, I think so. To make the point, let me start with a brief story.
I was at the gym and getting pretty close to the end of my workout.
Frankly, I was at a point where being done was way more attractive than the option of doing additional exercise.
Over time, I've developed many habits and beliefs that focus on finding the best next step - or a way to do just a little bit more. So this time, I used reverse-counting to help me finish that workout strong.
I started with 10 push-ups. I know I can do 10 push-ups, even at the end of a hard workout. Without putting my knees down, I can rest in plank position for a moment or two ... then I do nine more push-ups. That has to be easier than 10, right? Then eight more ... seven ... six. You get the point.
Each set is a little bit harder than the one before; but mentally I'm prepared for it, and can convince myself that I'm so much closer to the goal.
So I get to three, and sweat is dripping off my nose, my arms are shaking, and my hips want to sway. Somehow knowing that there are only two more sets, then only one more, allows me to finish.
That story could have been about creating profitable trading systems, developing a new database, or recovering from a setback. It's about finding a way, regardless of external circumstances.
Finding a Way to Do Just a Little Bit More.
There are many times that it seems easier to do nothing, or to give up. That's just not my nature. It's not in my "nurture" either.
My father used to say that the secret to success was getting up. What he meant was that if someone knocked you down 10 times, then the secret to success was getting up 11 times. And if someone knocked you down another time, then the secret was to get up 12 times. There's a lot of truth in that.
I laugh when I think of all the little things I do that condition me to take the best next step. Here are a few examples of small things that help define that mindset.
- I never stop reading until I finish a chapter.
- Also, when I play a strategy game on my iPhone, I never stop until I win.
- And, when I play a strategy game that I'm good at, I never stop until I achieve a certain score.
It doesn't matter if I'm frustrated or tired. I find a way. Each of these things, in its own small way, helps condition me to know that I can do anything I commit to do. Ultimately, what that means is that regardless of what happens, my outcome depends most on what I choose to do.
Sometimes these habits seem silly, quirky, or even a little bit OCD to me. Yet, they serve me.
Many benefits come from knowing that the game's not over until you say it is ... or until you win.
Moreover, it's comforting to know that there's always a best next step, or at least a different perspective that will create new opportunities and possibilities.
I tend to take that perspective in business as well. We focus on the progress we're making, and what that makes possible, rather than how far we are from the ultimate goal. Why? Because, as we continue to make progress, the things we shoot for are bigger and farther away. Focusing there would always show a shortfall. Obstacles and setbacks become the raw material for new growth, ideas, and strategies. The trick is getting back up, isn't it?
Sometimes the best advice is simple. Nike got it right in their ad ... Just Do It.
Measuring Normalized Behavior – Stop Worrying and Love The Pain
When your doctor tells you that you are fat, it is easy to discount (because you pay them to tell you that). When your massage therapist tells you that you are getting fat, you've got to listen (because they're trying to be nice to get a better tip).
Well, for the past two months, I've been getting back into fitness.
I used to be a competitive athlete. In the past, for me, exercise was about gaining an edge and competing better. In a sense, that is still true (just on a different field). Now, I work out to stay healthy, fit, and vital while managing the challenges of running a company, navigating an overbooked calendar, and traveling every week.
In my last post on mindset and action, I talked about the habit of conditioning yourself to take the next best step.
This is about focusing on the right things so you can best measure progress.
Normalizing your habits and picking the right metrics isn't just a habit for the gym. It's a habit you should pick up in life. If you don't set the right measuring stick you'll always be unhappy or underperform.
Plan forward – but measure backward ... you have to make sure you're not so focused on the horizon that you don't track what you've accomplished.
Normalizing the result makes this easier and better.
In running, for example, it is the time it takes me to finish one mile, while never going above 170 heartbeats per minute.
Meanwhile, in trading, we do this by comparing different opportunities based on a constant risk level (for example, the expected return for the next day of $1M, assuming a 2% maximum drawdown). It doesn't matter what market we trade, or how many trades the system makes ... we can make a fair comparison and get better insights about performance.
Hope that helps.
Posted at 06:54 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Healthy Lifestyle, Ideas, Market Commentary, Personal Development, Science, Trading, Trading Tools | Permalink | Comments (0)
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