One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.
I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.
Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.
It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”
I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.
Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.
1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.
2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.
Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.
Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.
Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.
Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.
Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life
Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.
Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?
3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.
Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.
You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.
You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.
4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.
Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.
1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever
I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.
This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.
Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.
I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.
Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.
It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”
I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.
Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.
1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.
2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.
Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.
Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.
Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.
Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.
Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life
Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.
Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?
3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.
Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.
You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.
You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.
4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.
Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.
1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever
I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.
This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.
Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.
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