Establish a quota for how many times you are allowed to fail in a given year to encourage risk-taking and growth, understanding that a zero failure rate means you’re not challenging yourself enough.
Prioritize pursuing your core values and sense of purpose, especially in helping others, as passion can fluctuate, but meaning provides more sustained motivation and commitment over time.
Actively recruit a group of trusted individuals who serve as ‘coaches’ (not critics) to provide honest, constructive feedback aimed at helping you improve and close the gap between your current and best self.
When receiving feedback, focus on how well you handle the criticism (your ‘second score’) by aiming to learn from it, rather than immediately defending or debating the initial ‘score’ given.
When seeking to improve, identify and concentrate on mastering only one key change at a time, as humans are serial processors and trying to fix too many things at once leads to fixing none.
Shift your focus from comparing yourself to others to comparing your current performance to your past self, making it easier to recognize and appreciate the progress you’ve made.
Redefine your standard of achievement by aiming for excellence, which is an extremely high but attainable standard, rather than unattainable flawlessness, and clarify what level of ‘good enough’ would satisfy you.
When facing a challenge or considering quitting, broaden your goal from a specific task to a wider domain or value (e.g., ‘artistic outlet’ instead of ‘drums’) to encourage healthier persistence and allow for flexibility.
Be attached to the quality of the work you control, but practice detaching from external reactions, especially from strangers or those not offering constructive feedback, as these are often beyond your influence.
Recognize that procrastination is primarily an emotion management problem, not a time management one; address unpleasant feelings associated with tasks by either changing the task or rewarding yourself for powering through boring work.
Overcome the inertia of starting daunting tasks by committing to work in very small, manageable time blocks (e.g., 15 minutes), which helps make incremental progress and reduces the pressure for perfection.
Implement pre-commitment strategies, such as having an accountability buddy or setting up a financial penalty (like donating to a disliked charity) if you fail to meet a self-imposed deadline.
When procrastinating due to fear of failure, vividly imagine the absolute worst-case scenario; this can help you realize that the actual consequences are rarely as catastrophic as your fears suggest.
When you find yourself hesitating to start a new or difficult task, ask yourself, ‘Am I going to do this one day?’ If the answer is yes, then challenge yourself with ‘What am I waiting for?’
Practice sharing your current struggles and imperfections, as this act of ‘meta-vulnerability’ can be a powerful form of connection, helpfulness, and service, rather than just discussing past, overcome challenges.
If you are a ’night owl,’ consider restructuring your workday and life cycles to align with your natural optimal performance times, which tend to be in the late afternoon, evenings, or overnights.