Hey,<\/p>\n
Last week I briefly talked about how you can “invent” your own
\nlearning tactics (or also, how I’ve been able to write all these
\nbooks and course material).<\/p>\n
This week, I’m going to tell you about a much broader application
\nof the same idea–how self-knowledge is essential to fixing any
\nproblem with accomplishing anything. More, I’m going to tell you
\nhow you can build that self-knowledge.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Self-Knowledge is the Key<\/p>\n
What do I mean by self-knowledge?<\/p>\n
Well think to a really common problem: procrastination.<\/p>\n
The difficulty with finding an answer to this problem is that
\nprocrastination, as a symptom, can have any one of a number of
\nunderlying diseases as a root cause:<\/p>\n
– Being too tired
\n– Lack of focus
\n– Lack of organization
\n– Feeling lazy (the so-called “bootstrapping” problem)
\n– No goals
\n– Wrong goals
\n– etc.<\/p>\n
The reason solving procrastination is difficult for most people
\nisn’t that “curing” these afflictions is particularly hard.<\/p>\n
It’s not.<\/p>\n
If your problem was simply being too tired, then a good night of
\nsleep and some exercise would probably cure you.<\/p>\n
If your problem was lack of organization, plug in weekly\/daily goals
\nand you can get back on track.<\/p>\n
If your problem was “feeling” lazy, then going through a motivation
\nritual I’ve described in past emails can often be the fix.<\/p>\n
No, the reason that curing procrastination is difficult is that you
\nmay not know the root cause. Like a doctor who doesn’t know the
\naffliction of the patient, you’re prescribing random drugs to
\npossibly combat diseases that don’t even exist.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
This is where self-knowledge comes in. If you know yourself well,
\nin a realistic and not just an idealistic way, you can identify
\nwhat the root cause of your problems is and put in real action plans
\nto fix it.<\/p>\n
Self-knowledge is knowing the difference from procrastinating due
\nto lack of focus and procrastinating due to subconscious sabotage
\nfrom setting the wrong goals.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
How Do You Build Self-Knowledge?<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. But there have been two
\npractices in my life that when used jointly have made it much easier
\nfor me to self-diagnose and cure my own problems.<\/p>\n
The first is keeping a journal. The second is record-keeping of
\nexperiments.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Keeping a Journal<\/p>\n
The point of a journal isn’t to have some permanent record of your
\ndaily life for future civilizations or when you enter senility. The
\npurpose is expressed in the present:<\/p>\n
Having a journal allows you to “think through” issues on paper,
\nwhich allows you to organize your thoughts much more cohesively
\nthan if you just speak aloud in your head.<\/p>\n
So if I were faced with a particularly long bout of procrastination,
\nI could start with the header, “Why am I procrastinating?” I could
\nthen go through a bunch of different root causes and explore them
\nto see if they applied to my situation.<\/p>\n
Obviously for a simple case like procrastination this may be
\nunnecessary. Self-knowledge doesn’t require lengthy introspective
\nsessions to work, although regular journaling can help.<\/p>\n
The point is that if you get in the habit of doing this, you notice
\npatterns more quickly and respond to them in time.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Record-Keeping of Experiments<\/p>\n
We all work through problems by trial-and-error. The tragedy is that
\nmost of us forget our lessons learned and make the same mistakes.<\/p>\n
By journaling down what you try to do to solve problems, what works
\nand what doesn’t, you have a physical record of your past successes.
\nThis allows you to scroll back through time and consult your past
\nthinking when finding new solutions to problems.<\/p>\n
By using record-keeping with journaling, you can generalize
\nsolutions from problems and answer your difficulties before they
\ncome up again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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