51 ways to change your life
We’re obsessed with lists. Not shopping lists or top-five-robotic-villains-of-after-school-cartoons-from-my-childhood lists (Megatron, Doc Ock, Krang, Dr. Claw, Dr. Robotnik) but different kinds of lists.
When I was cleaning my desk a few weeks ago, I found a folded-up copy of Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. Flash back two years: I shrank the font down enough to print it onto one 8.5×11″ sheet, which I then folded in half a few times and put in my wallet. I probably carried it for two days before I misplaced it. Finding it again years later, I still agree with most of what’s on the manifesto. It’s hard not to.
But acknowledgment is different from action. The nature of the list format stops these behavioral lists from being more valuable. 10 ideas to simplify your life. 30 ways to reduce stress in the workplace. 48 principles of good design. When things are packaged into a list, we have a habit of reading one thing, nodding and moving on. When the next bit of juicy advice is just a few lines down the page, it’s effortless to tilt our eyeballs the extra millimeter. In our quick-fix culture, lists are the Taco Bell of knowledge.
I had a habit of doing this with self-help books and business books as well. It’s too easy to turn the page and read the next insightful tip, without stopping to really think about or try what you’ve read. The creators of these lists or books aren’t are at fault-we can only blame our own hyper-indulgence of knowledge. We’re so infatuated with the idea of learning something, we don’t take the time to really learn it.
If you feel the same way I do, here’s one (and only one) piece of advice for you. It’s a simple act that’s made a universe of difference for me lately:
Learning in moderation.
When you find yourself saying “that’s a really great idea, I should try that,” stop reading. Pick one thing from that list of fifteen. Don’t worry about finishing the rest of the book. Try it. Practice it, repeat it, until it becomes routine. Remind yourself to consciously think about it on a regular basis. When you make that one item a habit, you can come back to the source and learn something else. Then, every time you practice the new thing, you’ll be reminded to keep practicing all the old ones.
Moderation is key. The more we try to learn everything, the more we learn nothing.
