INTERNAL SCORECARD #14: On Indomitable Will
I write up an "Internal Scorecard" weekly -- we look at production, productivity, habits. Some people like this, because you see the implications of long-term decisions unfolding in a real-world context. I like it because it gives me an accountability mechanism as well.
This one covers 1 September to 7 September.
RATCHETING THE POSSIBILITIES UP
Being around highly ambitious and enterprising people is incredible. Things you didn't realize are possible, are.
I spent the majority of the week with a friend who is CEO of a fast growing venture-funded company who is also an intense athlete. It made me ratchet up my realization of what's possible.
Here were a few areas that my expectations were greatly shifted this week:
*On will
*On cultivating will
*On fitness and training
*Significant gains on impulse control
*On working crazy amounts
*On accepting "meh" situations
*On generally having fun and vivacity while doing all that
INDOMITABLE WILL: THE MAKEUP OF HIGH PERFORMERS
I asked, "What do you thing the hallmark of high performers is?"
The answer was instant: "Indomitable will."
CULTIVATING WILL: BUILDING BLOCKS
That kicked off a lively discussion. But the most insight for me, and perhaps most relevant point to you is this -- willpower can be cultivated in a building blocks fashion.
Of course, we more-or-less already know this. Jason Shen covered the same point in his GiveGetWin interview many months ago.
But it was interesting living it simultaneously with discussing it.
We've discussed impulse control a fair amount recently, which is one aspect and manifestation of will. Here's another --
GOING TO FAILURE IN FITNESS
I'm reasonably into fitness. I don't compete in anything at high level, but I like moving around and doing things. I didn't used to when I was younger, but at some point I realized that (1) people who liked moving around did so more, (2) that led them to having much healthier and happier lives, and (3) this seemed like an acquirable trait. So I set out to move around more, lift weights, go swimming, or whatever else. It more or less worked.
But I'm not hardcore. The gentleman I was with, on the other hand, is hardcore.
Well, I'm pleased with this -- I learned the correct, most intense, military form for pushups. I learned a few intense ab exercises. And my running form is greatly improved.
I'm very aware of training to failure in weightlifting. I wasn't quite aware of the idea of regularly doing military form pushups to failure throughout the day as a boost to long-term fitness, short-term energy, and a boost of permanent willpower.
Fascinating, isn't it?
We started a few days ago, after I was introduced to do this concept. And then we'd randomly hit the decks and do quality-form pushups to failure, and try to get 2-3 more in once it was getting really hard in the end.
We did this multiple times daily. Being somewhat of a fan of this kind of thinking, I would randomly call out for us to hit the decks and do a round of pushups, and so would he. We'd do pushups at most every redlight we saw (where we couldn't cross the road when walking).
We didn't go out of the way to make a big show about it. We just did it. It was exhilarating. I was a little tired today (September 7th) on the train from Shanghai to Beijing, so I went off to an area out of the way and did a round of pushups to failure. Boom -- long-term fitness boost, short-term energy boost, bit of will development.
I shouldn't make this sound like it's always a good time. It sucks, at times. We went running (he mentioned it in passing, I pressed for it), and I'm not much of a runner. I've got pretty decent natural anaerobic ability and can build up a lot of strength, but I've never been great at cardiovascular activities. So we ran a 5k, and it was pretty brutal for me. We hit the decks for some rounds of pushups amidst it, and frankly -- I got a little dizzy and wasn't able to keep my running up.
That was three things -- first, no fun while it was happening; second, a good wakeup call that I should train in cardio for my overall health; and third, more willpower development.
Our limits often aren't.
GAINS IN IMPULSE CONTROL
By coincidence, I also had a social call with the ever-brilliant Brian Sharp this week, and he share on his perspective on addressing emotions as they arise -- you can repress, express, or accept emotions. (I'm simplifying what he said.)
Obviously repressing emotions has all sorts of problems, but he pointed out, interestingly, that expressing an emotion is often with the same intention as repressing it -- to make the feeling go away.
He offered a third alternative -- accepting it. Just accepting and reflecting on it.
Combined with a week of hardcore training, this was a very nice insight and the two combined to level up my impulse control, which I've been training in.
(SIDENOTE ON THEORY VS. ACTION)
Of course, if you're just reading this stuff theoretically, it's unlikely at best to stick. The best is if you're already doing things that are similar or related, and then you can pick a particular insight out to apply directly. Or if not, you can get curious and engaged with something because you read it. The stuff written above is probably not revolutionary if you're not training at all in anything… but if you are training in something related, can be very useful and profitable.
ON LARGE AMOUNTS OF WORK
Being around a high-work culture (13 person staff fast growing startup) that's driven by overachievement in work, education, fitness, and adventuring had incredibly large gains for my productivity. I had four days this week where I put in unreal amounts of work, easily in the top 5% of days I normally have.
The other three days weren't really slouch days either, though two of them were cut relatively short -- I pulled two all-nighters in this span because I was inspired late and was able to finish a lot of stuff off in a session of intense momentum, but then I got largely nap/sleeps on the two following days.
The other day that was a low work day I consciously chose to read and socialize most of the day, working just a bit. It was also a good day -- I've had a stack of good books lately, including reading The Lessons of History by Durant in just two sessions (magnificent book).
ON ACCEPTING "MEH" SITUATIONS
My friend turned over his bedroom to a new elite staff member he recruited while they were finding housing for all the new staff that came on and getting everyone squared away. That meant he was sleeping in… umm, a "couch" isn't even the right word. It's like a mini-couch.
This didn't seem to bother him. He just shrugged and did it. Amazing.
ON GENERALLY HAVING LOTS OF FUN
They have tons of fun in their cultures. Lots of little parties, fun times, going on a run or hike or to the gym as a culture, and so on. Massive production, very serious, but surprisingly lighthearted about it. There's no "serious intensity" there even though they're doing very serious things. I think places that have "weight" on them are probably more prone to burning out, and I'm not sure it adds to success chances at all. In fact, I doubt it does.
HESITATION IN THE FACE OF OPPORTUNITIES
I realized something about myself amidst my training -- sometimes I'll hesitate and put off opportunities longer than sure-things. This can be a big mistake. Now, I used to be bad at this, and thus opportunities would expire. That was ugly.
I've gotten much better over the years about it, and especially over the last few months as I'd been organizing and training along these lines. But still, I'll reply to some low-opportunity low-leverage decision on the same day often, but a big-opportunity high-leverage decision would often take 3-6 days.
That's fine if I was actually getting valuable information to make a better decision, but overall I think it's just fear of making a bad decision… but the problem is, I'm going through the same decisionmaking process anyway once I get around to it. So, I don't even make a much better decision by waiting.
Bummer, eh?
I'm going to start speeding that up. That's the nice thing about operating quickly and training in this sort of thing -- you start noticing patterns where the resistance is creeping in. Having already made a bunch of impulse control and will-related improvements in related domains, you get a high sense of confidence in your ability to do them in related things.
DALIO OF THE WEEK
"... 200) Think about the appropriate time to make a decision in light of the marginal gains made by acquiring additional information versus the marginal costs of postponing the decision. There are some decisions that are best made after acquiring more information, and some that are best made sooner rather than later. The later a decision is made, the more informed it can be; however, making it later can also have adverse consequences (e.g., postponing progress). Understanding the trade-off between the marginal gains of acquiring the extra information against the marginal costs of postponing a decision is an important factor in the timing and preparation of decision-making." -- Ray Dalio, Principles
That's the final word on if you should wait to make a decision until you know more. Generally speaking, I'd also say that sooner tends to be later in the majority of decisions, because mental bandwidth is expensive and scarce.
IF YOU'RE TRAINING IN WILL
Do it slower than you think you ought to.
If you're setting a behavioral change goal, set the success threshold about 1/3rd or 1/4th of where you think you can likely handle.
Set up some reminders and structures so you keep doing it.
Make it easy to get back on the horse if you fall off, and stay on the horse if you're sick/tired/aggravated/whatever.
Again, do it more slowly than you think. Rack up wins consistently, not big bursts followed by disengagements.
OH, AND THE TRAIN
I reflected last week that I should take the train more, because it tends to be highly productive and happy time for me. Other kinds of "mandatory offline" time is good, but trains are maybe my favorite. And I'm on the train now, and having a grand time and doing good work. Imagine that.
If you didn't ask yourself these questions last week, you might want to do so now:
"What situations/work mixes am I most productive in?
What are the traps/pitfalls that get me?
How to engineer more of the former and less of the latter?"
Trains are part of that equation for me -- and here I am. Answer the questions above, and get more of that happening.
Comments are always appreciated -- let me know what you think. And go sign up for TSR if you haven't yet.