2 | The Importance of Trajectory

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Hey friends,

I’ve recently come to notice that I have begun to lose a sense of time (given we’re in lockdown), alongside some complacency beginning to set in (with regards to fitness).

I would narrow down the causes to a few core areas:

1. A lack of routine

2. A non-optimised environment

3. No reward system in place to celebrate the 'small wins'

In the past, I have relied far too heavily on short bursts of motivation, rather than a robust system of practices which is regularly reviewed. In other words, I approached my projects with a sprint towards the deadline, rather than viewing it as a marathon. This led to a lot of my motivation for projects being outcome focused, rather than a sense of intrinsic motivation concerned more with the multitude of factors within my control.

Here's a link to a great article by Ali Abdaal on the Stoic philosophy that is 'The Trichotomy of Control', which I will be putting to use on the run up to my finals.

Where this philosophy is especially useful, is when I find myself in a rut. I personally define a rut to be a period of two or more successive days (a personal recession of sorts 📉) where I am working without a clear sense of intent and not considering the broader picture.

Just as the treasury realises at this point, some combination of policies must be deployed to place the country back on track for a positive trajectory in the long run, I take this to be a moment in which I must stop and review my current practices to see where I would end up if were to continue down my current path of trajectory.

Two years ago, I stumbled across James Clear talking about his then newly published book ‘Atomic Habits’ on ‘The Ground Up Show’. Reading this book was a personal milestone in understanding the importance of compounding habits and the corresponding exponential effect on future results. In his book, James Clear breaks down the process of habit creation into four key steps:

1. Make it obvious

2. Make it attractive

3. Make it easy

4. Make it satisfying

Here are my top 5 takeaways from Atomic Habits:

#1 - Aim to create a system and regularly review

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

#2 - Accept. Move on. Plan ahead.

"You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than your current results."

#3 - "Journey before destination" ~ The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.”

#4 - Focus on your self-image. If you don't trust the process, failure is inevitable.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

#5 - Be realistic. Focus on the next step. Seek constructive feedback.

“Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals.”

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Quote of the week 💭

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” — Epictetus

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A recommended watch 👨‍💻

For those of you who aren’t too familiar with 📱Clubhouse I’d recommend watching my friend Yath’s video explaining the new social media platform on the block. I’ve found myself attached to the app for the past 3 weeks, but we can save this story for another article 👀

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A question❓

Given your current trajectory, where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

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Have a great week! 🙌