i spent every day this week at social events, but not on purpose.
see, past me had committed to all of them months ago, but he forgot to ask present me about what i actually wanted to do this week.
while i enjoyed each one — & i’m grateful to have so many cool people in my life — part of me kept wishing i could be at home, creating stuff instead.
for better or for worse, i’m obsessed with the work i do.
the result: i’m making progress faster than i ever imagined.
the hidden cost: progress isn’t linear.
i’m too lazy to explain what i mean with big fancy words, so i made you some shitty drawings instead:
do you see what i mean?
i know it’s not groundbreaking stuff to say that progress isn’t linear, but bro…
PROGRESS ISN’T LINEAR
i like holding myself to high standards, but the cost of that is feeling shitty when i inevitably fall short of perfection.
there's this constant cycle i find myself in:
climb → plateau → slump
or in other words
(: → /: → ):
no matter how much i want progress to happen in a straight line, that’s not how it works.
there are always gonna be new obstacles that reveal themselves once you get over the last set.
Miley Cyrus was literally singing about it in 2009: there’s always gonna be another mountain bro.
so knowing that, i think it’s helpful to reframe those plateaus & slumps not as obstacles preventing you from growth, but as things that fuel it.
the cost of solving a problem is getting a new problem to solve.
it’s also the reward.
i know how that sounds, & i’ll be the first person to say, it sucks being in a slump.
the last thing you want me to tell you today is that slumps are inevitable & you should be happy about having them, because it’s a sign of progress.
but it’s true.
& yet, that doesn’t mean it has to suck.
you can’t escape the climb → plateau → slump cycle, but you can change 1 thing about it: how long each cycle lasts.
& lucky for us, the solution is simple:
pay attention.
lets play a game.
if you wanted to guarantee that your climbs were as short as possible, & your plateau’s + slumps were as long as possible, what would you do?
my answer:
don’t stick to a proper sleep schedule
check your phone before getting out of bed in the morning
give in to ‘loser habits’ like drugs/porn every time you get tempted
distract yourself so you don’t even notice the time pass by
ignore your goals so you’re never reminded of them
spend time with people who make you feel like shit
etc.
i think you get the point.
but since we both want the complete opposite result — long climbs with short plateaus + slumps — lets just flip those around to find out how to make it happen:
stick to a sleep schedule no matter what
don’t use your phone in the morning (especially not in bed)
resist your temptations for quick fixes
pay close attention to how you spend your time (ex. calendars, journals)
keep your goals front of mind (ex. let yourself be obsessed with them)
spend time with people who lift you up
i’m aware that a lot of this advice is pretty generic stuff that you’ve already heard a million times — & that’s okay.
“we need to be reminded more often than we need to be taught.”
over the past few years, i've become way better at trusting the process & shortening my slumps to extend the climbs.
the results are starting to speak for themselves.
progress isn’t linear.
but why should it be?
some things i learned
a helpful reframe for anybody who needs it
“every time you [try again], it’s like buying a lottery ticket where your odds improve as your skill improves.” i think Ali Abdaal said this. not 100% sure though. it’s a nice reminder that none of the work you do is wasted.how intelligence changes with age
just look at this tweet
nobody ever commissioned the Wall Street Bull sculpture
a guy named Arturo Di Modica spent 2 years & $350,000 making it himself, & after spending a few nights watching police patrols, he found his opportunity to put it there without being caught. definitely one of my favourite Wiki articles in recent memory.
cool stuff i found
a video to make you smile
it’s called the laughing paramedics, & it captures one of those moments where 2 guys can’t keep a straight face no matter how hard they try.one of the coolest websites to waste your time on
it’s called astronaut.io. not what you expect. just look!a website to track amazon price drops
i haven’t used it myself (i don’t really buy stuff) but this is a good site to see if the ‘sale’ you’re looking at is actually a sale (& not a trick).
that’s all for this week!
i’m 100000% gonna have at least 1 video out this week, maybe even 2 if i can do so without lowering the quality.
thanks for tuning in, it means a lot to me.
~ liam (:
PS: i started playing around with Aleph by RunwayML, & it’s pretty sick. i’m gonna try using it in some videos just for fun — curious to see how people react!
(nothing in this newsletter is sponsored btw)
PPS: if you’re interested in working with me 1 on 1 for free, click this link. i’m only taking the first 3 people who seem like the right fit!