REYNA, Kristinelou Marie N.

STEM II – Mendeleev

HOW TO STOP LYING TO OURSELVES: A CALL FOR

SELF-AWARENESS
By: James Clear

It was September of 1816 and two Parisian boys were playing in the courtyard
of the Louvre, the famous museum in Paris.

On the other side of the courtyard, a physician named René Laennec began to
quicken his pace as he walked along in the morning sun. There was a woman
with heart disease waiting for him at the hospital and Laennec was late.

As Laennec crossed the courtyard, he looked toward the two boys. One of them
was tapping the end of a long wooden plank with a pin. On the other end, his
playmate was crouched down with his ear pressed against the edge of the
plank.

Laennec was immediately struck with a thought. “I recalled a well-known

acoustic phenomenon,” he would later write. “If you place your ear against one
end of a wood beam the scratch of a pin at the other end is distinctly audible.
It occurred to me that this physical property might serve a useful purpose in
the case I was dealing with.”

When Laennec arrived at the hospital later that morning, he immediately

asked for a piece of paper. He rolled it up and placed the tube against his
patient’s chest. He was stunned by what he heard next. “I was surprised and
 elated to be able to hear the beating of her heart with far greater clearness than
I ever had with direct application of my ear,” he said.

René Laennec had just invented the stethoscope.

Laennec quickly upgraded from his piece of paper and, after experimenting
with various sizes, he began using a hollow wood tube about 3.5 centimeters in
diameter and 25 centimeters long.

Laennec's simple invention instantly changed the field of medicine.

For the first time in history, physicians had a safe, unbiased way to understand
what was going on inside a patient's body. They didn't have to rely solely on
what the patient said or how the patient described their condition. Now, they
could track and measure things for themselves. The stethoscope was like a
window that allowed a doctor to view what was actually happening and then
compare their findings to the symptoms, outcomes, and autopsies of patients.

And that brings us to the main point of this story.

The Lies We Tell Ourselves

We often lie to ourselves about the progress we are making on important

goals.

For example:

 If we want to lose weight, we might claim that we're eating healthy, but
in reality our eating habits haven't changed very much.
 If we want to be more creative, we might say that we're trying to write
more, but in reality we aren't holding ourselves to a rigid publishing schedule.
 If we want to learn a new language, we might say that we have been
consistent with our practice even though we skipped last night to watch
television.

We use lukewarm phrases like, “I'm doing well with the time I have available.”
Or, “I've been trying really hard recently.” Rarely do these statements include
any type of hard measurement. They are usually just soft excuses that make us
feel better about having a goal that we haven't made much real progress
toward. (I know because I've been guilty of saying many of these things
myself.)

Why do these little lies matter?

Because they are preventing us from being self-aware. Emotions and feelings
are important and they have a place, but when we use feel-good statements to
track our progress in life, we end up lying to ourselves about what we're
actually doing.

When the stethoscope came along it provided a tool for physicians to get an
independent diagnosis of what was going on inside the patient. We can also
use tools to get a independent diagnosis of what is going on inside our own
lives.

Tools for Improving Self-Awareness

Before we talk about some useful tools, I wanted to let you know I researched
and compiled science-backed ways to stick to good habits and stop
procrastinating.
If you're serious about getting better at something, then one of the first steps is
to know—in black-and-white terms—where you stand. You need self-
awareness before you can achieve self-improvement.

Here are some tools I use to make myself more self-aware:

Workout Journal – For the past 5 years or so, I have used my workout
journal to record each workout I do. While it can be interesting to leaf back
through old workouts and see the progress I've made, I have found this
method to be most useful on a weekly basis. When I go to the gym next week, I
will look at the weights I lifted the week before and try to make a small
increase. It's so simple, but the workout journal helps me avoid wasting time
in the gym, wandering around, and just “doing some stuff.” With this basic
tracking, I can make focused improvements each week.

My Annual Reviews and Integrity Reports – At the end of each year, I

conduct my Annual Review where I summarize the progress I've made in
business, health, travel, and other areas. I also take time each spring to do an
Integrity Report where I challenge myself to provide proof of how I am living
by my core values. These two practices give me a chance to track and measure
the “softer” areas of my life. It can be difficult to know for certain if you're
doing a better job of living by your values, but these reports at least force me to
track these issues on a consistent basis.

RescueTime – I use RescueTime to track how I spend my working hours

each week. For a long time, I just assumed that I was fairly productive. When I
actually tracked my output, however, I've uncovered some interesting insights.
For example, I currently spend about 60 percent of my time each week on
productive tasks. This past month, I spent 9 percent of my working time on
social media sites. If you would have asked me to estimate those two numbers
before using RescueTime, I'm certain I would have been way off. Now, I
actually have a clear idea of how I spend my time and because I know where I
truly stand, I can start to make calculated and measured improvements.

A Call for Self-Awareness

If you aren't aware of what you're actually doing, then it is very hard to change
your life with any degree of consistency. Trying to build better habits without
self-awareness is like firing arrows into the night. You can't expect to hit the
bullseye if you're not sure where the target is located.

Furthermore, I have discovered very few people who naturally do the right
thing without ever measuring their behavior. For example, I know a handful of
people who maintain six-pack abs without worrying too much about what they
eat. However, every single one of them weighed and measured their food at
some point. After months of counting calories and measuring their meals, they
developed the ability judge their meals appropriately.

In other words, measurement brought their levels of self-awareness in line

with reality. You can wing it after you measure it. Once you're aware of what's
actually going on, you can make accurate decisions based on “gut-feel” because
your gut is based on something accurate.

In short, start by measuring something.

REYNA, Kristinelou Marie N.
STEM II – Mendeleev

The Paradox of Behavior Change

By James Clear

The natural tendency of life is to find stability. In biology we refer to this

process as equilibrium or homeostasis.

For example, consider your blood pressure. When it dips too low, your heart
rate speeds up and nudges your blood pressure back into a healthy range.
When it rises too high, your kidneys reduce the amount of fluid in the body by
flushing out urine. All the while, your blood vessels help maintain the balance
by contracting or expanding as needed.

The human body employs hundreds of feedback loops to keep your blood
pressure, body temperature, glucose levels, calcium levels, and many other
processes at a stable equilibrium.

In his book, Mastery, martial arts master George Leonard points out that our
daily lives also develop their own levels of homeostasis. We fall into patterns
for how often we do (or don't) exercise, how often we do (or don't) clean the
dishes, how often we do (or don't) call our parents, and everything else in
between. Over time, each of us settles into our own version of equilibrium.
Like your body, there are many forces and feedback loops that moderate the
particular equilibrium of your habits. Your daily routines are governed by the
delicate balance between your environment, your genetic potential, your
tracking methods, and many other forces. As time goes on, this equilibrium
becomes so normal that it becomes invisible. All of these forces are interacting
each day, but we rarely notice how they shape our behaviors.

That is, until we try to make a change.

Before we talk about how to get started, I wanted to let you know I researched
and compiled science-backed ways to stick to good habits and stop
procrastinating.

The Myth of Radical Change

The myth of radical change and overnight success is pervasive in our culture.
Experts say things like, “The biggest mistake most people make in life is not
setting goals high enough.” Or they tell us, “If you want massive results, then
you have to take massive action.”

On the surface, these phrases sound inspiring. What we fail to realize,

however, is that any quest for rapid growth contradicts every stabilizing force
in our lives. Remember, the natural tendency of life is to find stability.
Anytime equilibrium is lost, the system is motivated to restore it.

If you step too far outside the bounds of your normal performance, then nearly
all of the forces in your life will be screaming to get you back to equilibrium. If
you take massive action, then you quickly run into a massive roadblock.
Nearly anyone who has tried to make a big change in their life has experienced
some form of this. You finally work up the motivation to stick with a new diet
only to find your co-workers subtly undermining your efforts. You commit to
going for a run each night and within a week you're asked to stay late at work.
You start a new meditation habit and your kids keep barging into the room.

“Resistance is proportionate to the size and speed

of the change, not to whether the change is a
favorable or unfavorable one.”

The forces in our lives that have established our current equilibrium will work
to pull us back whether we are trying to change for better or worse. In the
words of George Leonard, “Resistance is proportionate to the size and speed of
the change, not to whether the change is a favorable or unfavorable one.”
In other words, the faster you try to change, the more likely you are to
backslide. The very pursuit of rapid change dials up a wide range of
counteracting forces which are fighting to pull you back into your previous
lifestyle. You might be able to beat equilibrium for a little while, but pretty
soon your energy fades and the backsliding begins.

The Optimal Rate of Growth

Of course, change is certainly possible, but it is only sustainable within a fairly

narrow window. When an athlete trains too hard, she ends up sick or injured.
When a company changes course too quickly, the culture breaks down and
employees get burnt out. When a leader pushes his personal agenda to the
extreme, the nation riots and the people re-establish the balance of power.
Living systems do not like extreme conditions.

Thankfully, there is a better way.

Consider the following quote from systems expert Peter Senge. “Virtually all
natural systems, from ecosystems to animals to organizations, have
intrinsically optimal rates of growth. The optimal rate is far less than the
fastest possible growth. When growth becomes excessive—as it does in cancer
—the system itself will seek to compensate by slowing down; perhaps putting
the organization's survival at risk in the process.”
By contrast, when you accumulate small wins and focus on one percent
improvements, you nudge equilibrium forward. It is like building muscle. If
the weight is too light, your muscles will atrophy. If the weight is too heavy,
you'll end up injured. But if the weight is just a touch beyond your normal,
then your muscles will adapt to the new stimulus and equilibrium will take a
small step forward.

The Paradox of Behavior Change

In order for change to last, we must work with the fundamental forces in our
lives, not against them. Nearly everything that makes up your daily life has an
equilibrium—a natural set point, a normal pace, a typical rhythm. If we reach
too far beyond this equilibrium, we will find ourselves being yanked back to
the baseline.
Thus, the best way to achieve a new level of equilibrium is not with radical
change, but through small wins each day.

This is the great paradox of behavior change. If you try to change your life all
at once, you will quickly find yourself pulled back into the same patterns as
before. But if you merely focus on changing your normal day, you will find
your life changes naturally as a side effect.
REYNA, Kristinelou Marie N.
STEM II – Mendeleev

What I Do When it Feels Like My Work Isn’t Good

Enough

By James Clear

In the beginning, it was easy. There was no pressure. There were no outside eyes.
There were no expectations.

When I started writing, I wrote in a private document for over a year before I
published my first article on JamesClear.com. I wrote about what I wanted to write
about. I wrote because I wanted to get my thoughts down. I wrote because I felt like I
needed to write.

After a few months of sharing my work publicly, things began to change.

As I developed an audience, I noticed that I began judging my work. In the

beginning, I was just happy to get my ideas down on paper, but now I felt like they
had to be “good” ideas. I began comparing new articles to my most popular ones. I
was constantly measuring everything I wrote against my internal standard of good
and bad—even though I didn't know exactly what that meant.

Thankfully, I didn't let my self-doubt stop me from writing. I figured this was part of
the creative process for anyone who created things consistently. I told myself that
judgment and self-doubt was just a toll that I had to pay to continue the journey and
create better work.

In a way, this is true. Everyone deals with self-doubt—artists, creators,

entrepreneurs, athletes, parents. But in a way, I was wrong. Self-doubt is not a cost
you have to pay to become better. Let's talk about why.

Before we talk about how to get started, I wanted to let you know I researched and
compiled science-backed ways to stick to good habits and stop procrastinating.

The Inner Game of Tennis

I just finished reading a book that has been on my reading list for quite some time,
The Inner Game of Tennis (audiobook) by Timothy Gallwey. It is a book about life,
not just tennis.

In particular, there was one quote from Gallwey that made me pause and rethink my
early months of writing and self-doubt.

“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not
criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and
nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't
condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not
being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and
give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose
from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its
 whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each
state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”

—Timothy Gallwey
Ambition and contentment are not opposites, but we often make the mistake of
thinking that they are incompatible. On the one hand, experts tell us that we should
be mindful, focused on the present, and content with our lives regardless of the
results. On the other hand, coaches and champions tell us that successful people out
work everyone else, that we must never be satisfied, and that complacency is
undesirable.

The rose seed, however, is both content and ambitious.

As Gallwey says, at no point are we dissatisfied with the current state of the rose
seed. It is perfectly all right at each moment. Yet, it is also incredibly ambitious. The
rose seed never stops growing. It is constantly seeking to get to the next level. Every
day it is moving forward, and yet, every day it is just as it should be.

Is Judgment Required for Success?

Is judgment required for success? Do you have to be unhappy with your work to
discover the drive to become better? Does judging ourselves make us any better?

I don't think it does.

 Deliberate practice is what makes you better.

 Putting in your reps is what makes you better.
 Falling in love with boredom is what makes you better.

Those tasks are easier said than done, of course. When I find myself falling into the
trap of judging my work, here's a strategy I use to pull myself back on track: I try to
remember that each outcome is simply a point along the spectrum of repetitions.
 Goals vs. Repetitions

A = Easy Goal
B = Moderate Goal
C = Difficult Goal

Here are a few examples…

Writing: In this case, repetitions might be “number of articles published”

 Point A is getting your first 1,000 readers.

 Point B is landing a book deal.
 Point C is speaking internationally about your work.

Entrepreneurship: In this case, repetitions might be “years in business” or

“number of sales calls”

 Point A is making $10,000.

 Point B is making $100,000.
 Point C is making $1,000,000.

Photography: In this case, repetitions might be “number of photos taken” or

“number of galleries called”

 Point A is selling your first print.

 Point B is making a full-time living from your work.
 Point C is showing your work in your first gallery.

Every outcome you can achieve is simply a point along the spectrum of
repetitions and time. The number of repetitions you need to put in for a
particular goal is dependent on your circumstances, your experiences, your
training, and many other factors. Everyone's spectrum of repetitions is unique:
your spectrum is different than mine.

It is important to realize is that just because you are at Point A and someone
else is at Point C that does not mean you are doing bad work. In fact, there is
no bad work or good work. Just as there is no such thing as a rose seed that is
a bad rose bush. There are just points in time and repetitions completed.

Release the desire to define yourself as good or bad. Release the attachment to
any individual outcome. If you haven't reached a particular point yet, there is
no need to judge yourself because of it. You can't make time go faster and you
can't change the number of repetitions you have put in before today. The only
thing you can control is the next repetition.