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- May 1, 2011
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We all have days when our weak self gets the best of us.
You wake up tired and skip a morning workout.
You wake up lazy and fail to work on your business first thing in the morning.
You fail to resist a temptation and gorge on junk food.
On such days, it's tempting to let go altogether. After all, you've already failed. The day is lost. Might as well take advantage of that and indulge in other negative habits. Watch TV for the rest of the day. Have a few beers. Play some video games. Order a large pizza or two (with a gallon of coke).
Psychologists call it the "what the hell effect": when you break a single rule (that by itself isn't that significant) and then go on a rule-breaking rampage. For example, you eat a single piece of forbidden food (say, a slice of bread on a keto diet) and end up binge eating junk food the entire day. Or you waste an hour browsing social media and end up watching memes for the rest of the day.
It's easy to believe that a single transgression means that your day is over. You've made a mistake and you've lost.
But in reality, you can still turn such a bad day around and get ahead.
How?
Divide your day into quarters.
If your waking hours are between 6 am and 10 pm, your quarters are:
- 6-10 am,
- 10 am-2 pm,
- 2 pm - 6 pm,
- 6 pm - 10 pm.
Now, let's say that you failed the first quarter because you didn't go running at 7 am. You also failed the second quarter because you were supposed to work on your business between 10 am and 2 pm.
It still doesn't mean that the day is over and you can write it off and do whatever.
When you divide your day into quarters, even if you mess up one or two quarters of your day, you don't have to let the entire day go to waste.
You simply start from zero with another quarter.
You forget about the previous quarter and focus on the next one. Your weak self might have won the previous one but you don't have to let it win again.
Do one thing that would make the next quarter a win.
Go on a run that you were supposed to complete in the morning. Do one hour of solid work on the most important task. Drink more water and fast for the rest of the day.
Even if you win only one quarter, you'll still be ahead compared to letting the entire day go to waste.
You wake up tired and skip a morning workout.
You wake up lazy and fail to work on your business first thing in the morning.
You fail to resist a temptation and gorge on junk food.
On such days, it's tempting to let go altogether. After all, you've already failed. The day is lost. Might as well take advantage of that and indulge in other negative habits. Watch TV for the rest of the day. Have a few beers. Play some video games. Order a large pizza or two (with a gallon of coke).
Psychologists call it the "what the hell effect": when you break a single rule (that by itself isn't that significant) and then go on a rule-breaking rampage. For example, you eat a single piece of forbidden food (say, a slice of bread on a keto diet) and end up binge eating junk food the entire day. Or you waste an hour browsing social media and end up watching memes for the rest of the day.
It's easy to believe that a single transgression means that your day is over. You've made a mistake and you've lost.
But in reality, you can still turn such a bad day around and get ahead.
How?
Divide your day into quarters.
If your waking hours are between 6 am and 10 pm, your quarters are:
- 6-10 am,
- 10 am-2 pm,
- 2 pm - 6 pm,
- 6 pm - 10 pm.
Now, let's say that you failed the first quarter because you didn't go running at 7 am. You also failed the second quarter because you were supposed to work on your business between 10 am and 2 pm.
It still doesn't mean that the day is over and you can write it off and do whatever.
When you divide your day into quarters, even if you mess up one or two quarters of your day, you don't have to let the entire day go to waste.
You simply start from zero with another quarter.
You forget about the previous quarter and focus on the next one. Your weak self might have won the previous one but you don't have to let it win again.
Do one thing that would make the next quarter a win.
Go on a run that you were supposed to complete in the morning. Do one hour of solid work on the most important task. Drink more water and fast for the rest of the day.
Even if you win only one quarter, you'll still be ahead compared to letting the entire day go to waste.
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