How to Actually Start Doing Something? Pt. 2
In last week's newsletter, we talked about how to gamify your life. We discussed how you can set quests as triggers and rewards to establish a habit.
However, unlike those in video games where the developers have given you quests and clear instructions on what you need to do next, life is full of uncertainty.
We are unsure of what kinds of quests to set for ourselves. Effortless quests give you minimal satisfaction after completing them. Overly challenging quests make you unmotivated and depressed.
Break down large goals into manageable and smaller steps
Take getting a well-paid software engineering job as an example, this is how you can break this tremendous goal into smaller chunks:
The key is to keep asking yourself "How".
- How can I build a resume?
- How can I create my own website projects?
- How can I self-learn a programming language?
When you ask yourself enough "Hows", you will get to the fundamentals, which should always be where you start.
Earning consistent small rewards > getting big and slow rewards.
However, how do I make sure I can 100% get this well-paid software engineering job? What if I learned programming and still failed?
This is totally possible. The future is always uncertain, and we don't know whether our efforts will pay off. This concern always keeps us from starting something new.
The solution is to lie to yourself.
When you want to get a software engineer job, you should lie to yourself and say that you will definitely get it after learning a programming language such as HTML. This self lying mechanism incentivizes you to start learning as soon as you have a clear desire.
At the end of the day, even if it doesn't work out, you still mastered new programming skills and will most likely benefit from them.
On top of lying to yourself in the beginning, you still need to have consistent success as fuel to continue on this journey. (refer to Failure is Not the Mother of All Success)
By setting realistic goals to receive consistent success and lying to yourself to build up your desire, you can achieve everything.
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