This Week’s BIG Idea
I celebrated the website’s first-anniversary last week, so I’ve been thinking a lot about everything that happened this past year. When I first started this project, I wanted the site to become a creative outlet to express myself. Needless to say, it became much more. I learned so many life-changing habits and regardless of what happens with the site, I’ll never be the same. These are some of the small habits I started that led to big results:
- I meditated on a daily basis
- I minimized my physical and digital spaces
- I journaled daily for the past four months
- I saved money
- I read daily for almost two years
- I built a second brain using Notion
- I started a bullet journal
- I’m eating healthier than ever
- I exercise on a regular basis
For every item on this list, I could point toward a book. I can’t stress the importance some books have had on this journey. The idea isn’t to brag about my perfect life (believe me, it’s far from perfect), but to show you the importance of learning small habits and being consistent with them. The path of self-development is never ending and the idea is to slowly become the best version of yourself possible.
What I’m Working on
Since we discussed small habits in the previous section, let’s talk about a new habit I started a few days ago. I recently started writing answers on Quora. Although I’ve read answers on the platforms before, I never took the time to reply to people’s queries. I’ve enjoyed this so far and I’ll continue doing so for a while. I know a lot of people use Quora to practice their writing skills and famous writers like Nicolas Cole (more on him below) and Jordan B. Peterson have achieved massive success on the platform.
What I’m Listening to
You can’t write an online article about small habits without bringing up James Clear’s Atomic Habits, one of the best books on the subject. Clear was recently interviewed by Tim Ferris and while I didn’t listen to the podcast episode yet, I’m really looking forward to it.
What I’m Reading
- The Art and Business of Online Writing by Nicolas Cole: this book teaches you everything you need to know about writing online. Some of the lessons Cole discusses in his book include why you shouldn’t start a blog, the seven levels of success of internet publishing, how to generate ideas so that you always know what to write about, and how to write the perfect post, among others. This is an invaluable book for anyone interested in writing online.
What I’m Watching
Atomic Habits is one of my favorite nonfiction books ever and I read it twice (once for pleasure and once to write a summary). But even if I have a summary, it’s easy to forget how important this book’s been for me, and to remind myself of that, here’s a video with twenty of its life-changing lessons. Some of those lessons involve becoming a reader, the power of habit stacking, tracking your habits, choosing your right habits, and focusing on systems rather than goals. If you haven’t read Atomic Habits yet, I highly recommend it.
This Week’s Quote
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Blaise Pascal
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