The Six Lies That Stand Between You And Your Success
Wise Words From The Book - The One Thing By Gary Keller With Jay Papasan
Lie #1 - Everything Matters Equally
Equality is a worthy ideal we like to follow.
But in real life, not everything is equal.
And when it comes to our daily lives, not everything matters equally.
You cannot equally distribute your time among your loved ones. Nor can you take on all the tasks of the day with equal importance. You have to make a choice.
It's this lack of making an intentional choice that runs our day and lives in the wrong directions. Here we are not dictating how we would like our day to go. Instead, we are letting other things and people decide it for us.
On top of this, we are "overbooked, overextended and overcommitted". We have so much on our plate that we miss out to see what is actually crucial to us.
"When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn't actually move us any closer to success."
Now it's up to us to choose which task is more important to move the needle a little forward.
Lie #2 - Multitasking
Multitasking is a lie.
The term 'multitask' was initially used to describe computers. Not humans.
In the computer sense, multitasking means "multiple tasks alternately sharing one resource (the CPU)". But, over time, it started to mean "multiple tasks being done simultaneously by one resource (the person)".
See the problem there? See why humans can't multitask?
Multitasking is an illusion.
Sure, we can do two things at the same time. For example, walk and listen to a podcast. But we can't focus on two things at the same time. There's a huge difference there.
Multitasking may get things done in the now. But in the long run, it bears no fruit and will leave you burnout and frustrated.
Lie #3 - A Disciplined Life
You cannot have every aspect of your life and personality disciplined.
Try it and know you'll fail.
What we need to do instead is find out which aspects of our lives needs to be disciplined and forms habits around them.
When we say, "I just need more discipline in my life," what you actually need is a habit to keep you on track, and we need just enough discipline to build that habit.
Once we can make that habit a permanent part of our lives, it will play itself daily. It will become our second nature.
Lie #4 - Willpower Is Always On Will-Call
We believe that Willpower is a human characteristic, a virtue.
This is not entirely true.
Willpower is a limited resource. The more willpower we use to do something, the less we have to tackle the next task.
The more willpower you use to stop yourself from eating that doughnut, the less willpower you have to stop yourself from eating one when another doughnut shows up in front of you again.
Lie #5 - A Balanced Life
"Nothing ever achieves absolute balance."
What we actually do (or need to do) is performing the act of balancing.
Time spent on one task means you have taken away time from another task. Therefore, balance is impossible.
We have to prioritize what's essential in our personal and professional life and balance them in such a way that no one gets hurt. Going too far or too long in one aspect will make you lose on some other.
Lie #6 - Big Is Bad
Many of us fear that we'll gain stress and lose precious time with family and friends if we go big. That we may never get to chill.
But if we don't think and aim for big, how will we know what we are made of?
Thinking small keeps to in your comfort box. Thinking big will help you achieve your dream life.
(I recommend reading The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan which inspired this article.)
You might also want to read -
So You Think Everything Matters Equally? Think Again
So You Think You Can Multitask? Think Again
So You Think You Can Have A Disciplined Life? Think Again
So You Think You Have Willpower On Speed-Dial? Think Again
So You Think You Can Have Balanced Life? Think Again
So You Think Going Big Will Hurt You? Think Again