Personal Protocols
Engineer systems that make possible to fall into the flow of success.
Break out of viscous feedback loops and flow into virtuous cycles that create positive energy.
The Enemy
Identify the enemy within, then reprogram the story.
If you don't know what your problems are, you can't fix them.
Don't allow your enemies steal your attention
Bad Habits
Common bad habits and what to do about them.
Engineer systems, plan schedules and practice rituals, to avoid falling into these traps:
- No Morning Routine, hitting snooze
- Plan to enjoy your mornings.
- Eating rubbish food, too much sugar
- Snack on nuts and seeds to maintain (willpower) energy levels
- Overthinking, talking instead of doing, and assuming the worst
- Endless scrolling, dopamine addiction
- Allowing media to pollute your thoughts
- Is this good for me?
- Is this dense with detailed information?
- Is this important?
- Is this going to stand the test of time?
- Is the person writing this well-informed on the issue?
- Lying to yourself by making excuses
- Criticising and judging people
- Giving unsolicited advice
- Practice Reflective listening
- Being a yes person
- Watching TV
- Play a game.
- Being Late
- Working too late
- Feeling entitled
Fear Setting
Repeat this ritual at monthly or quarterly intervals or when taking difficult decisions.
Fear-setting helps deconstruct fears and put them in a more realistic perspective compared to the costs of not taking action. This motivates taking bold steps outside your comfort zone to make progress.
The protocol has three components, each with a different purpose.
- Put your fears under a microscope
- Consider the potential benefits of taking action
- Consider the consequences of inaction
Define, Prevent, Repair
- In the "define" column, list out the 10-20 worst things that could happen if you take the action you're considering.
- In the "prevent" column, write down what you could do to prevent each of those scenarios from happening.
- In the "repair" column, note how you could repair the damage if the worst-case scenarios occurred.
Consequences of Action
Write down all the potential benefits of attempting the action, even if it results in only partial success. This helps determine how taking action can help you grow.
Consequences of Inaction
Make three columns labeled 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years. In each, write down the potential costs and consequences of maintaining the status quo - of not taking action. Consider emotional, financial, and physical consequences.
Benefits
Benefits of Fear-Setting
- Helps you realize the "worst-case scenarios" usually aren't as bad as imagined
- Shows that the benefits of attempting the action are often better than initially thought
- Reveals the often overlooked costs and consequences of inaction and staying comfortable
- Provides clarity and confidence to take difficult actions you've been avoiding due to fear
- One of the most powerful exercises for overcoming paralysis and producing big successes
Good Habits
- Cultivate Meaningful Friendships
- Develop Versatility and Curiosity
- Embrace Paradox
- Reprogram Your Thinking
Cultivate Meaningful Friendships
Building strong bonds with friends and colleagues can spark innovation and boost unity. Some ways to cultivate amazing friendships:
- Make an effort to initiate plans and spend quality time together
- Show up and support your friends through both good times and rough patches
- Follow up and remember important things going on in their lives
- Be their biggest cheerleader and support their dreams
Having a tight-knit group bound by shared values and genuine friendship can lead to more cohesive, innovative teams with lower turnover. Aim to surround yourself with people you could see yourself being good friends with.
Develop Versatility and Curiosity
Rather than overspecializing, cultivate your natural curiosity across a wide range of fields like business, science, history, poetry, and engineering. Polymathic knowledge fuels innovation and problem-solving. Some ways to expand your knowledge:
- Read books and articles on diverse topics outside your main area of expertise
- Have conversations with people from different backgrounds and industries
- Pursue hobbies and interests that stretch you in new directions
- Travel to experience different cultures and perspectives
Becoming a more versatile thinker will increase your ability to come up with groundbreaking ideas.
Embrace Paradox
Look for opportunities to cultivate seemingly opposite yet complementary traits within yourself, such as:
- Adding structure to your life while staying adaptable
- Making data-driven decisions while thinking intuitively
- Being confident in your abilities while staying humble
People who embody these "Zen-like opposites" are often the most transformative leaders and thinkers. Whenever you notice contradictory traits within yourself, find ways to develop both in a balanced way.
Reprogram Your Thinking
Our thoughts and attitudes are largely driven by our conditioning, but we have the power to reprogram our thinking. When you notice yourself falling into limiting thought patterns, imagine a switch in your brain that you can flip to play a different, more empowering thought. With practice, you can retrain your mind to:
- Focus on how you're helping others rather than fearing judgment
- View challenges as opportunities to learn and grow
- Believe in your ability to figure things out and achieve your goals
Shifting to a growth mindset and abundance mentality will help you develop into an innovative leader and culture-shaper.
Decisions
All that you know is a state of mind, might as well make it a good one.
- Tell better stories
- Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make, makes you.
- First we make our habits then our habits make us.
- Focus your attention on controlling the controllable.
- Weigh your bets to match your confidence.
- Maintain a decision journal to track your progress.
The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less - Socrates