Of the people we see or hear of, there are two categories into which you can group them. Those who impact us fall into the ‘Achievers’ and the others fall into the ‘Guessers’. Achievers get what they want and to top it, they live their dream and Guessers doubt themselves by assuming that they can’t achieve.
If you find yourself in ‘Guessers’, how do you move out?
Take me as an example
Zero books a year to 30 books a year
Four years back books were never part of my day. The only reading I did was 15 minutes of newspaper headlines skimming, and it turned out to be useless.
Three years back I got back to my reading spree. I used to finish one book every 40 days.
Last year, I was at the peak(by my standards) of my reading. I was reading five books every month.
With having only classes for the whole day to being productive around the clock.
Three years back all I could do was to attend classes, complete assignments days and sleep.
Six months back every day was filled with productive work. Heading a research forum (20 member team), writing blog posts every week, online courses, writing a research policy and brainstorming meetings.
Last week I wrote 11,954 words for the blog.
Coffee table discussion went from “what is the next movie?” to nationalism and leadership. When I was in school, I was comfortable in the ‘Guessers’. With rituals, I had slowly moved out.
From a guesser to achiever:
There is no single turning point for all of this.
I believe in the power of rituals and the multi-dimensional benefits of being ritualistic in work. The transition from a guesser to achiever was because of the rituals I created and meticulously followed.
The transition is continuous and happens over a period of time.
1 – What are you chasing?
Being purpose driven and being focused on it is what differentiates the achievers from the rest. What do you wish to chase? As Simon Sinek in his world famous TEDx talk said, people remember you when you start with your “WHY”.
If you want the biggest reward, then your dream [for your purpose] has to be the biggest. Your WHY is so powerful that it does not let you deviate from the track as well.
2 – The ritual
For hundreds of years, knowledge was passed down generations without the use of books. Rituals played a vital role in keeping the tribe together and also in education. The more consistent the rituals were, the better the successors knew.
Finding empty pockets in your day can help you move from guesser to achiever. (Email for support in converting empty pockets to productive time)
For example, to get fit physically and mentally, I follow a ritual that is the 1st hour of the day for exercise followed by one hour of reading and then healthy breakfast. I not only get one step closer to my goal but also get energised for the rest of the day.
3 – Finding the sweet spot.
When you are in your transition phase, do as many things as possible.
For example, if you have reading as a way to reach your goal, then a starting pint would be a magazine. The articles are short and from all genres making it ideal for a starting point. As you keep reading, you will find your interests, and now you move out by searching for books based on that. By making sure you have a platter to feast on, you can find your focus area(your sweet spot)
Being ritualistic for your goal moves you closer to it and also makes you grow holistically. It is vital that you move back and forth through the 3 points frequently and when needed. If you are happy with one ritual, it will become monotonous. Being monotonous is as dangerous as not doing anything at all.
Start small and being consistent at it gives the big result you expect.
Email at arun@maktheway.com for support in becoming ritualistic at work!