<p>We've been trying to do a bunch of experiments here on this show, and our latest is a <a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">weekly newsletter, which you can sign up for here!</a></p> <p>To celebrate this new endeavor, we've put together a whole episode about risk taking and experimenting. We thought this would be helpful and educational while also giving you a fun peek behind the scenes (and also allowing us to be blatantly self-promotional in the process—a win/win!). In fact, this episode itself is experimental in its format, because we don't have a typical guest.</p> <p>I sat down with the show's Senior Editor Marissa Schneiderman—who has been collaborating with me on the newsletter—to talk about how we've been putting into practice the wisdom from some of our best guests, including Brené Brown, Adam Grant, Rick Rubin, Sarah Cooper.</p> <p>You can sign up for Dan Harris' Newsletter at:</p> <p><a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast</a></p> <p>It's a weekly roundup of life hacks, cultural recommendations, pod news, and upcoming events.</p> <p><strong>Related Episodes:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/adam-grant-hidden-potential" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adam Grant on the Science of Potential and Achievement</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/rick-rubin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Legendary Record Producer Rick Rubin On: Creativity, Habits, Self-Doubt, Intuition and Meditation</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/sarah-cooper" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Comedian Sarah Cooper On: Humiliation, Perfectionism, and Taking Chances</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/brene-brown-repost" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vulnerability: The Key to Courage | Brené Brown</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/dan-clurman-and-mudita-nisker-494" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How to Speak Clearly, Calmly, and Without Alienating People | Dan Clurman and Mudita Nisker</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/take-risks</a></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Seek Discomfort & Take Risks
Actively put yourself in situations where you might fail, be judged negatively, or embarrass yourself to foster significant personal growth.
2. Embrace Impermanence of Discomfort
When experiencing discomfort or fear, remember the principle of impermanence, knowing that the uncomfortable feeling will eventually change.
3. Evaluate Holistically, Not Just Metrics
Judge risks and experiments holistically, rather than solely by traditional metrics, as they often lead to unexpected positive outcomes or valuable learnings.
4. Practice Sanely Ambitious Brainstorming
Generate many ideas, then allow them to settle before selectively executing the best ones in a way that avoids burnout for yourself and your team.
5. Set Clear Intentions Daily
Practice intention setting regularly (e.g., morning, before exercise, before sleep, before meditation, before projects) to align your actions with desired outcomes.
6. Communicate with Truth, Usefulness, Timing
When communicating, especially when giving feedback, ensure your words are true, useful, and delivered at the appropriate time.
7. Cultivate Self-Awareness of Motivation
Diligently investigate your motivations for actions, acknowledging natural self-interest while also being open to a desire to help others.
8. Allow for Failure in Innovation
Create a culture that explicitly allows for failure, as it is a necessary component of innovation, creativity, and iteration.
9. Start with Minimum Viable Product
When trying something new, don’t put pressure on yourself to perfect it immediately; instead, aim for a minimum viable product (MVP) and iterate based on feedback.
10. Maintain Momentum, Don’t Stop
Even when uncertain about the outcome, continue working and putting things out there rather than stopping entirely.
11. Differentiate Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Mistakes
Learn to tell the difference between acceptable and unacceptable mistakes, balancing the pursuit of excellence with knowing when ‘good enough’ is sufficient.
12. Don’t Dwell on Past Mistakes
Instead of punishing yourself by thinking about every past mistake, accept them as they happened and get excited about what you’ll try next.
13. Focus on the Present Moment
Avoid ‘cheating on the present’ by dwelling on past mistakes or anxieties about the future; stay focused on what is happening now.
In creative endeavors, prioritize being true to yourself and your passion over listening excessively to well-meaning external input, especially after achieving success.
15. Identify Your Emotional Armor
Become aware of the forms of ‘armor’ you use (e.g., perfectionism, cynicism, control) to manage uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
16. Practice Meditation Regularly
Engage in regular meditation practice to develop a sense of humor about your mind’s distractions and a greater willingness to make mistakes.
17. Foster a Culture of Mistake Acceptance
As a leader, explicitly message that it’s okay for your team to make mistakes and demonstrate moving on quickly from them to create a safe and productive environment.
18. Sign Up for Newsletter
Sign up for the 10% Happier weekly newsletter to receive life hacks, cultural recommendations, podcast news, and upcoming events.
19. Download Meditation App
Download the new 10% with Dan Harris meditation app to access guided meditations, weekly live Zoom community sessions, and ad-free podcast episodes.