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- 12 | 👺 'Better the Devil you know, than the Devil you don't'?
12 | 👺 'Better the Devil you know, than the Devil you don't'?
Yo team,
Here we are with number 12, which means 3 months of writing! Not too bad at all. Looking back, it's interesting to look at what I've been writing, and to see if there's a thread that runs through some of them. And surprise - there is.
A lot of what I find myself writing about surrounds habit formation, self-improvement and becoming a better person. The problem is, changing is hard. Preserving the familiar is always the easiest choice. But, improvement is possible only when things do not stay the same.
Behavioural economics tells us that losses are twice as potent as a win - losing £100 is equal to gaining £200. This goes some way in explaining resistance to change. If changing doesn't look twice as good as staying the same - it's going to be a tough sell.
Better the Devil you know, than the Devil you don't?
No. Of course not.
Interestingly, it appears I've been writing around the concept of status quo syndrome - i.e. self-improvement/positive change - most weeks.
Nobody cares - Status quo is one way to avoid losing. And one way to 'lose' is by being criticised by somebody, or embarrassing myself. The thing is, nobody really gives a shit - they're too busy worrying about their own life. Maintaining the status quo does effectively mean losing anyway, because if there's no improvement, it's a backwards step.
Small changes - Big changes - hard. Small changes - less hard.
Lower your expectations - Expect less, and be okay with the fact things don't always work out to our standards. This takes the pressure off making changes - because it's fine if it turns out badly.
Journey before destination - It's not always the change itself that matters (losing weight, mastering a skill). Enjoying the process of changing, and the new person that develops over time as a result, is hugely important.
Just start - Inaction is the easiest thing to do (or not do). Working out how to make the smallest change possible, to go from 0 to 0.00001, instead of 0 straight to 100, helps us step out of the status quo.
I started this email to learn and think about things out loud, and it's interesting to see a thread develop.
Thanks! 😎
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How am I 1% better this week? 📈
3 weeks of running every day, but I also started something that I've been putting off for months. How's that for status quo syndrome?
What have I learned this week? 🤔
Autumn now starts in June. Only joking - one cool thing I learned this week was that Channel 4 is owned by the government, much like BBC, but it's commercially funded (by adverts). The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is now reviewing whether to sell to a private company, given the changing TV landscape (Netflix + other streaming platforms). I think it's a good thing, personally.
This Week’s Recommendation 🔝
TV 📺 - Wandavision
Very good, very weird.
This Week I’m: ⬇️
Reading 📚 - The Millionaire Fastlane- MJ DeMarco
Listening to 🎧 - Atlanta - DJ Tennis
Visiting 📍 - Manchester
Thinking about ✅ - Saying yes to more things
Looking forward to ⛈ - Playing Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox - this game looks utterly mad. Watch this trailer and tell me you don't want to fly from Tokyo to Europe via Mount Fuji.
This Week’s Quote 💬
Starting from zero can be a gift. If you don't have much to begin with, you don't have much to lose. You can be bold when you aren't trying to protect something. — James Clear
This Week’s Video 📺
This is a series I'm doing at the moment -it's easy to film and easy to edit so it's a good way to get some practice in.
There we have it!
Looking forward to catching up next week.