It’s often said that freedom exists on the other side of discipline.
I think about this often.
In part, because I spent a good amount of life undisciplined.
Childhood was ‘organic and free-range’. Child-led, to the extent we raised ourselves. I’ve had to teach myself basic life skills as an adult, which are ideally learnt in childhood.
Such as making your bed, doing the laundry instead of buying new clothes, and unloading the damn dishwasher (because “it doesn’t empty itself!”).
Not gonna lie — I still haven’t conquered this one.
But when I studied the habits of happy people — the common theme I discovered made a lot of sense.
So what do most happy people have in common?
They pursue mastery.
Writers, weightlifters, content creators. They spend the majority of their time consistently building their craft.
But mastery is hard. So millions quit.
I’ve been one of them.
There’s a graveyard of 1-month-Twitter-wonders, who gave up when their first thread didn’t launch their career. We live in a content-driven world, yet 91% of content is made by 1% of users.
TikTok is the only platform which bucks this trend — 55% of users are also creators.
This tells us there’s a lot of quitters and never-starters out there. Like hungry caterpillars, happy to munch their way through millions of hours of content without any real contribution. Either way, exceptional talent and unexplored skills are left on the table. This was me for a long time.
And here’s why — mental friction.
It’s easier to chomp than to change.
Let’s face it. There’s not many who want to spend “…10,000 hours to achieve mastery”.
Between full-time work, a side hustle, the demands of family, friends, lovers, keeping fit and fighting climate change — who’s got 10,000 hours knocking around?
But you know what — there’s a simpler path to mastery.
Let me show you.
Be the master of your own happiness
James Clear’s book Atomic Habits has cemented the concept of 1% better every day, deep into society’s consciousness. And for one good reason.
The law of Compound Return.
Many don’t understand compound returns with money. But most, don’t even know about it for building skills.
It’s the strategy of gaining huge rewards from tiny, even insignificant actions. Just 1%. Every day.
Because even tiny steps, is progress. No 10,000 hours.
One step, that’s all.
Action is easy when you remove the cause of mental friction.
This small change in thinking has enabled me to become a full-time writer and content creator. I’ve a lot to learn about writing still. But now a year in, showing up on the daily, I’m starting to enjoy the benefits of Compound Return.
As the saying goes — you can’t turn a pig into a racehorse. But you can make a super fast pig. And you can beat anyone, given a long enough timeline.
No one can show up 100% every day. There will always be missed days.
But the little steps add up.
Choose one, small action today
Here’s my challenge to you. Pick one skill. Something you’re passionate about and aligned with your values.
No “ I should do XYZs” please. You can’t shame yourself into growth.
Next, make a start with these 3 simples steps:
- do some research
When I’m learning something new I start shallow, then dive deep. I want to get a broad overview as quickly as I can. My go-to’s are Wikipedia and YouTube. Then, when I’m ready to deepen — I seek the experts.
Podcasts are exceptional for this kind of knowledge. Gifted speakers not only convey their knowledge but demonstrate its application.
- make a plan
This could be as simple as writing down a quick checklist of actions. I use Notion and write myself a daily checklist the night before.
Each of my tasks progresses one or more of my core life goals — mindset, skills, wealth (emotional, relational, physical, mental, spiritual).
- take a step
Choose one task you can action straight away. Simple dopamine hack — your brain operates on a reward system. Starting and accomplishing one small task triggers this reward system, and builds motivation to continue.
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As we all know, the name of the game is consistency.
Just show up daily and move the needle 1%. And over time, the law of Compound Return will work for you and give you huge rewards.
This way — fulfilling your life goals is no longer a matter of if, but when.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
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