repetition (mini-📝 35/100)
Adapted from a note on 08/03:
Repetition is the key to success.
For any creative (in the sense of literally creating something) literally all about repetition. To get better at anything, the best way is to just do that thing, to chase the fun that you have there and the playfulness you seek. Just pull the thread that feels interesting and see where it leads you
how to take better photos? Take photos
How to write better? Write
How to code better? Code
How to make friends better? Talk to people
How to be more comfortable being yourself? Be open about who you are
A lot of self-help books are structured in this way—identifying small steps you can repeat and providing different perspectives to viewing the task with less trepidation and viewing yourself with more trust. Self-help is all about personal lessons from a personal truth, and sometimes that’s the greatest pull we need to reframe our mindset.
The traditional advice is to ask the experts for advice, to follow a plan, to stick to a routine. But all that’s misdirection because it’s just successful people telling you what worked for them.
Fear and just doing it is what separates people who feel infinitely prolific and people who are living blank. Stop being halfhearted and wavering on what you want. Do what you want and seek out what you do.
Nike really secured a timeless slogan as it’s evolved into a universal litany to ward off fear and muster enough courage to chase something desired that is hard to get.
A lot of whether you do it or don’t do it comes down to courage and your ability to dive into the deep. It’s about your level of dauntlessness and familiarity with starting from the bottom.
A lot of fear comes from the idea that there’s a kind of person you need to look like or a particular character you have to feel like. That anxiety and fear come from a place of not knowing whether you’ll meet expectations, whether you’ll pull off the magic trick, the art of substituting parts of your identity for a foreigner’s.
from Making of Prince of Persia
The only way I’ve found for getting better at this is frankly doing it and getting used to being fully exposed. I’m trying to train my mind to find comfort in the open, to relish the freedom of authentic expression. I’m just doing it once. And then another time. And again and again...
This is the 35th installment in my experiment of publishing raw, lightly edited mini-essays every day towards achieving 100 public pieces. Check out the rationale and the full list here or view my evergreen, longer pieces on my website.