How can I get what I want?

How can I get what I want? I absolutely love this TED talk by Mel Robbins. She talks about helping us get what we want.

First, we have to pick something. Then we have to be honest with ourselves, and stop saying we are fine, especially to ourselves!

Mel uses a brilliant analogy of the inner snooze button, which we use to silence our most amazing ideas all day long.

She shares a very important truth – we will never feel like doing anything to change something in our lives. The force required to change what we do on autopilot to something new is called activation energy, and it is hard work. We need to parent ourselves, and make ourselves do the things we don’t want to, which will allow us to achieve our potential and be who we are supposed to be.

The way to get what we want is to force ourselves. Anything that requires a break from our usual routine requires force. The routine of our lives causes us to get bored, and Mel thinks this is a signal from our body that something is wrong, in the same way as hunger or thirst. Our basic need for exploration and growth is not being met.

The only way we can allow our soul to grow is by forcing ourselves to be uncomfortable, to get outside of our head, away from our inner critic. We need to stop listening to our feelings of whether we feel like doing something. It is more important to focus on what we want. We need to get out of the comfort zone.

The first three seconds are the most important. We need to react to an idea within three seconds in order to give ourselves enough activation energy to force ourselves to change our behaviour. The probability of us existing in the first place is one in four hundred trillion. We owe it to ourselves to act on our impulses.

Mel also shares the five second rule. If we don’t respond to an impulse by linking it to an action within five seconds, we will kill the idea. Our problem isn’t a lack of ideas, it is that we don’t act on them. I found this such a powerful idea, and I intend to make sure I always act on my own ideas in future!

Project 365

I set up this website after deciding that I want to build a more creative life for myself, so I can give up my job and be in control of my own destiny.

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment.

The name I chose was Project 365 because I see this as a year that I have dedicated to learning and self-development, as I countdown to freedom. It started on 1st January 2021, so I have 184 days to go!