3182: [Part 1] To Accomplish Big Things: Think Big but Act Small by Jay Harrington of Life and Whim

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily, episode 3182

[00:00:03] To accomplish big things think big but act small

[00:00:08] Part 1 by Jay Harrington of LifeAndWim.com and I'm Justin Malik

[00:00:13] Happy Thursday

[00:00:14] Welcome to one of the only podcasts in the world where blogs are narrated to you for free with permission from the authors

[00:00:20] And it's an award-winning podcast. Thanks to you

[00:00:23] Today I have a bit of a longer post. I'll read the first half, but then finish the rest for you tomorrow

[00:00:28] So with that let's get right to part one and start optimizing your life

[00:00:33] To accomplish big things think big but act small

[00:00:41] Part 1 by Jay Harrington of LifeAndWim.com

[00:00:46] A few weeks back I wrote a post that discussed the importance especially for busy parents of taking advantage

[00:00:53] Of the early morning hours to accomplish big things be it starting a business

[00:00:59] Mastering a new talent or writing a book

[00:01:02] Early morning is indeed a time to get things done

[00:01:06] My post prompted a few questions from readers the most common of which was some variation of

[00:01:13] Okay, great. So early morning is a good time to work on big goals. What then?

[00:01:19] Fair question put another way if early morning is when to work once my alarm goes off

[00:01:26] How should I work?

[00:01:28] I responded to each person and gave them my take with the intention of leaving it at that

[00:01:33] Our blog after all is not focused on issues like productivity

[00:01:37] It's focused on self-improvement in a broader sense from spending more time outside in nature to

[00:01:45] Engaging in creative pursuits Life and Wim is all about encouraging our community to pursue active meaningful lives

[00:01:53] The more I thought about it though

[00:01:54] I realized that learning how to work in the most effective and productive manner is for many

[00:02:01] integral to experiencing a life well-lived

[00:02:05] Much of our time on this planet is spent working and it's only through hard work that we can realize our dreams

[00:02:12] So we might as well make the most of our time spent on the road in the field on the site

[00:02:18] and in the office

[00:02:20] The good news is that hard work can be deeply satisfying it feels good to do a job well done

[00:02:28] accomplishment gives us meaning

[00:02:31] Hopefully this resonates because it's a feeling you've experienced before

[00:02:35] But it's not just me making this assertion about the connection between hard work and happiness

[00:02:41] Academic research backs it up in the early 1980s. Well-known psychologist. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

[00:02:48] Conducted a series of studies meant to understand the psychological impact of common behaviors. We engage in every day

[00:02:56] One of the major insights of his work was to show that depth

[00:03:01] Generates meaning he found that people are actually happier doing deep work than they are relaxing

[00:03:09] Based on his findings

[00:03:10] He concluded quote the best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limit

[00:03:17] In a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult or worthwhile end quote

[00:03:24] Csikszentmihalyi

[00:03:26] Popularized the term flow state that is used to describe the effortless feeling experienced by high achievers from

[00:03:33] authors to athletes

[00:03:35] Operating at peak performance during periods of hard work

[00:03:39] It's called hard work for a reason anytime

[00:03:43] You're trying to learn a new skill or attempting to build something worthwhile

[00:03:48] It's hard

[00:03:49] Most of us start enjoying something only after we get good at it and it takes practice and hard work to get good

[00:03:57] Take playing the guitar. For example

[00:04:00] practicing guitar is painful physically and emotionally and

[00:04:04] Frustrating for several months until enough work has been put in to build up calluses and learn the basics

[00:04:11] Once someone earns their calluses and their skills improve, however

[00:04:15] Guitar starts to become fun and satisfying

[00:04:19] Resilience is built up during the painful periods of any worthy endeavor and serves as a bridge to the other side

[00:04:26] If you want to do something that's satisfying most times you have to do it when it's not

[00:04:33] Practice is a precursor to passion

[00:04:36] The point is that the type of intense work that leads to high achievement is not only remunerative

[00:04:43] It's psychologically rewarding as well in light of works holistic benefits

[00:04:48] It therefore makes sense to work in the most productive manner possible in order to realize the greatest benefits

[00:04:56] What follows is my take on how to get things done?

[00:04:59] I'll start with an overarching argument

[00:05:02] Which is that the best way to tackle something big and important is to minimize as many distractions as possible

[00:05:09] in order to create space and time to work intensely and

[00:05:15] consistently on one's most important priorities

[00:05:18] Notice that this formulation consists of three elements which can be summarized and categorized as follows

[00:05:24] one minimize distractions to do intense consistent work and

[00:05:31] Three establish important priorities

[00:05:34] number one minimize distractions

[00:05:37] When he was CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates would disconnect twice a year for off-site

[00:05:43] Think weeks during which he would do nothing but read and think deeply in

[00:05:49] 1845 Henry David Thoreau headed to the woods for two years to write his masterwork Walden

[00:05:56] George Orwell fled the hustle and bustle of London and escaped to a remote house on the small island of Jura off the coast of

[00:06:02] Scotland to write 1984

[00:06:05] He described his writing sanctuary as extremely ungettable

[00:06:11] After his standout 2014 season all pro-defensive lineman JJ Watt of the NFL's Houston Texans

[00:06:17] Bought a minimalistic cabin in a remote area of northern, Wisconsin

[00:06:22] In order to isolate himself during the offseason while upping his training regimen

[00:06:28] Now as a busy person

[00:06:29] I'm not suggesting that you can or should head off to a remote location in order to live and work monastically

[00:06:36] But in order to consistently produce valuable work, you do need to find ways to minimize distractions in your day

[00:06:44] To be continued you just listen to part one of the post titled to accomplish big things

[00:06:54] Think big but act small by Jay Harrington of life and whim calm and I'll be right back with my commentary

[00:07:02] Thank you to Jay. I'll finish the rest of this post for you tomorrow

[00:07:06] Major takeaway from this article for me was when Jay was talking about me hi chicks sent me hi and said

[00:07:12] One of the major insights of his work was to show that depth generates meaning

[00:07:18] He found that people are actually happier doing deep work than they are

[00:07:23] Relaxing based on his findings

[00:07:25] He concluded quote the best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort

[00:07:33] to accomplish something difficult or

[00:07:36] worthwhile end quote

[00:07:38] You know as a student in college or grad school even after that really when I was working in a cubicle

[00:07:45] I always looked towards this dream of finally reaching retirement early retirement preferably

[00:07:52] Where I can sit back and just do whatever no plans just relax

[00:07:58] But I'm convinced now after running my own business for over a decade now in reading all of these great articles

[00:08:05] That the dream is actually a bit of a nightmare

[00:08:09] Not having things to do that keeps us active

[00:08:12] productive thinking

[00:08:14] Growing that's not a life to aspire to. I really think that's a life of boredom at best

[00:08:21] but worse could be

[00:08:23] meaninglessness

[00:08:25] depression worthlessness

[00:08:27] purposelessness

[00:08:29] Lifeless. I don't think we talked about it enough. So it was nice to hear in this article and we're just halfway through

[00:08:35] I'll finish the rest for you tomorrow, but that's it for today

[00:08:38] Thank you for being here and listening every day and I'll see you tomorrow where we'll finish up this post

[00:08:44] And where your optimal life awaits