7 things I learnt this week
about Conversations, Friends, Algorithms and more.
👋 Hello, again. If you joined my short lived writing escapade a while back, thank you. If you enjoyed what I wrote, I’m sorry for leaving. If you didn’t, I’m sorry I’m back. Never the less, here I am.
Here’s what happened.
The day I planned to write would come around. To find writing inspiration I’d check my Evernote journal, where I daily write down something I find interesting, discover about my actions, or just learnt that day in general. I also, every Sunday, write these weekly “learnings” down in my paper pack journal — yes, you read that right. Paper. Actual paper. With a pen. So to be honest, I just felt pretty over writing even more on my chill day. Netflix won.
Anyway, I had the cheeky idea of pretty much copy and pasting what I type in Evernote across to a weekly blog post on Medium, killing to birds with one stone and resurrecting my new years resolution. As someone I once new intimately said, it’s not about how you start, it’s the finishing that counts. I’m sorry if that’s a bit crude, I think I just discovered that I have much less of a filter when I write. I think I like it.
Without further a do…
Let me open Evernote.
#1 About Conversations.
What I wrote down: A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations they’re willing to have.
What you can do with that: There’s a reason why certain conversations are uncomfortable, and that’s usually because you see them having some level of conflict, and you’d rather just avoid them outright. The more you avoid them, the more you allow for resentment to build up. Also, conflict needs to be resolved to move forward. I’m willing to bet that you have something you either want to ask someone, or something you need to tell them that you’ve been avoiding. Go have that conversation — it probably won’t go the way you’ve played it out in your head anyway.
#2 About Ownership.
What I wrote down: Practice extreme ownership, as a leader you are solely responsible.
What you can do with that: Owning your actions is empowering. It puts you in control of the outcomes, whether they’re good or bad. Next time you fuck up and think of shifting the blame, making an excuse or outright lying — don’t. It doesn’t work, trust me. Just say yes, it’s on you, and accept whatever follows. You’ll feel good in the gut.
#3 About Algorithms.
What I wrote down: Quintessentially, an algorithm takes inputs, runs a series of tasks, and gives an output in purist of solving a problem as efficiently as possible.
What you can do with that: If you don’t want to go into detail, quintessentially means the raw basics — you can use that fancy word in a conversation now I guess. If you want more from this, think of yourself as an algorithm. Everything you see and hear is an input. What do you do with that information and “data” right now? Inputs are worthless if that is all that they are. When you learn something new bring an action to that and use it to adjust some output — this, quintessential, is the basis of growth.
#4 About Friends.
What I wrote down: Confide in your best friends.
What you can do with that: Confide in your best friends.
#5 About Competition.
What I wrote down: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
What you can do with that: If you have a business, spend a few hours reflecting and writing down what you think your competitors think of you. How they perceive you. Try your best to put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself, if you were them, what would they be doing now knowing you exist? How do you think they perceive themselves compared to you — I guarantee they think they have the edge and are better, why do you think they think that? It’s an interesting exercise.
#6 About Productivity.
What I wrote down: Prioritise and execute, but don’t let the focus of one priority cause target fixation. Maintain the ability to see other problems developing and easily shift as needed.
What you can do with that: Commitment is great. But not mindless commitment. Don’t just follow through because you said you would. Remember you’re a smart algorithm, how do you process new info? Next time you are working on something important and another task pops up, quickly evaluate which one you think has a bigger negative effect if you ignore it — either continue, or switch. Don’t be stubborn and just finish the first one you were doing.
#7 About Losing.
What I wrote down: Learn to love losing; don’t hide it. Fail fast, and fail often.
What you can do with that: Not the easiest one, nobody likes to appear a failure. We’re competitive creatures and it goes against our gut to be proud of loss. But it’s important to realise you’re not always going to win. If you base your self identity on being a winner, when you inevitably lose at something you will hit a wall. By owning failures, you not only prepare for this, but you also aren’t crippled by the idea of not winning — which can stop you from starting big important things.
Next time you fail at something, it doesn’t matter what or how big — phone a friend and tell them, sound excited about it too. Remember #4, confide in your friends ;)
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That was nice, I enjoyed writing that. I’ll try my best to do this every week. Also just to be 100% transparent, while I do write down something I’ve reflected on everyday, when I post here I won’t necessarily strictly follow the sequence of my journal and may use older content I have. I may skip something either because it’s a bit repetitive of something else I’ve written, or because it’s a bit too personal — I mean we don’t even know each other yet?
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