Chris Hargreaves

Student of Life

Achievement

Always Do the Optional Run

by

Despite my body mass index measuring close to the single digits, I sometimes engage in a bit of cardio.

A while back I was testing out different forms of digital running “coach” to see whether they were any good (spoiler alert: they were OK, but not great).

One of them would regularly have a run of X minutes/kms, followed by an “optional” run of about the same again.

So here’s my question: would you do the optional run, or would you stick with the essentials only?

One decision, made consistently over time, can make the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary in our life.

Did We Get Too Smart for Self Discipline?

by

Not too long ago, self-discipline was the primary driver behind achievement. Knuckle down, work hard, see results.

And then we got smart.

We started talking about habits, neuro-plasticity and the science of behaviour – all great concepts and tools for self-development.

But as we explore these excellent tools, we can start to think that self-discipline isn’t relevant anymore – it’s somehow been replaced by a series of smarter, more modern life hacks that are easier to execute.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Have you Learned to Think?

by

What a silly question, right?

I mean, who doesn’t know how to think? And can you actually learn to think, or is it just something that you’ve either got or you don’t?

I don’t know the answer to the last question, but I can help with the second one by a simple exercise.

It looks like this: why do you do, what you do?

Why do you spend money on X, and not on Y? Why do you exercise, or not? Why you speak in this way, or that way? Why do you react a particular way to a particular thing?

Are these behaviours, actions, statements and thought patterns the result of a conscious decision by you? Or do they just kind of happen?

So have you learned to think?

Or are you operating on autopilot, the simple accumulation of your life to date?