When putting a golf ball on a slope, you don't aim at the hole. You aim a little to the side and let the slope do the rest.
Our brains work the same way. I know my slopes, so here are 3 ways I aim a little to the side.
🔁 Look back before you look ahead
My default is to notice things I haven’t done yet. Not what I have done. Dan Sullivan calls this the gap vs the gain.
So I remind myself sometimes of the gain.
Micro level, I do this every day. Twice a day in The 5 Minute Journal. After 10+ years doing this, noticing the good stuff is second nature.
Macro level, I do this once a quarter. A quick look back at the last 3 months: what went great?
It’s the quickest way I know to start a quarter with momentum.
🪞 Quick quarterly check-in
My favorite question from executive coach Jerry Colonna:
"How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want?"
Small example I caught a few weeks ago. I love waking up early and feeling ahead of the day. But some days I'll talk myself into a second cup of coffee ("I'll be so productive!").
Narrator: he was not that productive.
Then I go to bed late and wake up later the next day.
An easy way to write it out:
I say I [what you want]... but sometimes I [what you do instead].
Carve out 10 minutes for this one question. Then paste your answers into your AI of choice and ask for more examples. Fair warning, it might sting.
Other questions I like:
What is the critical voice in my head saying?
What is the hype man in my head saying?
How might I add a little more FUN into my days?
🛠️ Craftsperson mindset
Reminder to self: great things start out terrible.
"When a craftsperson has a seed of an idea but is unsure where to start, they do not procrastinate by doing more research. They start by making something terrible."
— Julian Shapiro
This is my biggest slope. Perfectionism, which is a fancy word for overthinking and over-researching. So this quarter I'm aiming a little to the side and shipping the terrible version first.
Salud,
Mitchell
Ps. What’s your slope? Hit reply and tell me what you’re cooking up this quarter. (I reply to every one)
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