14 ideas that changed my life
What do you need to change your life?
Do you need new actions?
You do.
But don't you need something to take the new actions?
Yes, you need new ideas.
Today, I wanted to write a little different Letter for you.
I wanted to write about some ideas that have changed my life. And might very well change yours as well.
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Idea 1: Sustainability over everything.
I used to think it was cool to push on and do difficult things no matter what.
It was cool if my content, as an example, was hard to make.
But... I realized it was a little foolish.
Sure, I'm a preacher for doing difficult things.
But when it comes to succeeding, you must be able to stay in the game for long enough.
There aren't many creators who have posted consistently for 10 years who aren't insanely successful, are there?
You just must not quit.
And you will quit if it's too hard.
That's why, keeping it sustainable is the key.
Why am I not posting photos and videos on new hikes daily on IG? Because it's not sustainable.
It's not something I could do on my worst days.
Let's take Tim Ferriss as an example.
He's known for his podcast and books The 4-hour work week, Tools of Titans, Tribe of Mentors - and more.
He decided to not do video podcasts because he didn't like travelling with camera gear.
Think about that.
And video podcasts were the thing with a huge opportunity when he made the decision. (And perhaps still are.)
But he knew, he'd not continue if it was too difficult.
So he rather travelled with his microphones and a laptop and kept doing his thing.
Sustainability is what has taken him where he is today as a best-selling author and more.
I've taken the lesson of sustainability - and applied it to everything. That's how I've been able to post daily for 6+ months. Next week, 7 months.
And that's how I can keep doing so.
Deciding to do easy things too, doesn't mean you're a loser.
Idea 2: You're doing better than you think.
Believe it or not, I also feel bad at times.
I might doubt myself.
I might be a little sad about something...
But that's when I remind myself... I'm probably doing much better than I think.
And this applies to you too, most likely.
As Brianna Wiest wrote in 101 Essays that will change the way you think, you're doing great even if you're getting your bills paid.
There's a lot of people struggling with that. But you perhaps aren't.
Or maybe you are - but maybe you have something many don't have.
Maybe you struggle - but still get to pay your bills in the end.
Maybe - you had to move back with your parents to have a roof to sleep under. But at least you have parents who could offer that to you.
It's all about perspective.
Most of us underestimate how well we're doing.
It's easy to get to that by comparing to others.
But notice where you are. What you have. There are many people who don't have those things. Such as access to clean water and food.
Idea 3: The best productivity hack is having more fun.
When you're watching Netflix, do you need discipline to keep watching it?
Or if you're playing video games?
Or scrolling social media?
It's easy, right?
Why is it easy?
Because it's fun.
So - why don't we make everything more fun?
Why don't we make the difficult tasks more fun?
Ask yourself: How would this look like if it were fun? (I learned this from Ali Abdaal.)
Then, see how can you make it more fun.
And then make it more fun.
You'll be surprised how you'll have an easier time doing the stuff once was boring - or difficult.
How have I applied this?
I play fun music when I edit videos that I wouldn't want to edit.
I play music when I do taxes or search for invoices for my accountant.
That's how I keep it fun for myself.
Or maybe I challenge myself.
Maybe, I give myself 25 minutes to edit a video. And then I have this competition against myself.
It's more fun. It's easier to do. It's easier to keep doing it.
Find how to make the things you procrastinate on more easy.
Idea 4: No social media or messages before 1h after waking.
It's been studied that if you scroll social media close to waking up, you'll be more distracted the entire day.
And - you might feel worse after it.
Maybe you compare yourself to others. Or maybe there's bad news from the world.
I don't check any social media, messages, or emails... until at least 1 hour after waking up.
Especially as an entrepreneur, there's so much stuff that can go to sh*t.
An entrepreneur is a fireman. He's often fixing things that didn't go as planned.
But whether you're an entrepreneur or not, I'm sure you'll find this helpful.
I have time off from social media and messages for my mental health.
I love social media ofc. That's what I do. But I don't want to be "on alert" all the time.
I need time for myself.
When I have time for myself in the morning, even on the absolute worst days, at least I have 1 hour of peace.
Idea 5: Fiction over non-fiction before bed.
I used to love reading fiction. But then I gave it up as I was introduced to the hustle culture.
Instead, I was reading non-fiction books.
But that gave challenges of its own. Because I did this often before bed as well.
My mind was racing when I tried to sleep. My mind was trying to process what on earth had I just read.
But then, I made the switch to fiction.
Fiction, isn't real, of course.
And neither, are dreams.
I feel when I read fiction, I adjust my brain to a "dreamy state".
This allows me to:
1) Read fiction books I want to read - and
2) Improve my sleep quality.
Idea 6: Sleep is king.
If you don't sleep enough, you're doing it wrong.
You should prioritize it.
Of course, if you're a parent that can be difficult.
If you're a photographer like me, it can be difficult. (We often shoot when others are asleep.)
But, prioritize it as often as possible.
That has changed everything for me.
Many people, especially young people, think it's better to work longer and sacrifice sleep.
This couldn't be further from the truth.
Lack of sleep:
1) affects your ability to focus.
Your ability to focus determines what you get done.
And that determines where you get in life.
2) decreases your lifetime.
This means you have even less time chasing your dreams.
What's the point?
Sleep more.
You aren't being a loser by doing so.
You're a genius.
There are people who have built billion-dollar companies even by not setting an alarm in the morning.
Idea 7: Find small ways to help
We've all heard helping others brings happiness.
Or that "you should contribute to the humanity".
And you might have thought well once I'm rich I will.
But... would you really?
Mostly those who don't start giving back earlier, won't give back later either.
I used to be thinking a lot about how I can't help out people a lot financially yet. Once wealthy, I can help more people then.
But then I came across Arnold Schwarzenegger's book Be Useful.
That's the key message. Be useful.
He teaches that it doesn't need to be money you give away.
There are other ways you can contribute to humanity.
You can also help out with small things. They make a difference for you - and for others.
You see you could help a grandma carry her groceries? Help her.
You see you could clean something from somewhere - that maybe wasn't for your responsibility? Clean it.
You see you could give advice to someone on social media? Help them.
Helping others makes others feel good. And it makes you feel good too.
It's a win-win.
We humans are "programmed" to want to help others. To contribute to humanity. Otherwise, we'd not have survived.
So, contribute. Our nature will reward you. No matter how small or big thing. Help in some ways.
Schwarzenegger mentions this in his book too.
I can't remember the exact study. But he mentioned a study where a person donated a small amount of money vs a lot of money.
The happiness level of the giver was the same!
It doesn't matter how much you are able to give. Give something.
You'll help our species. And you'll feel much better about yourself.
You were useful.
Idea 8: Consistency every day isn't how many see it
When people think of showing up daily, they think it's always them performing at 100%.
But that's not what it means.
Consistency means you give your best on that given day.
Maybe you have a bad day. You're overworked. Tired. Or maybe you got some bad news.
Don't think your day is a failure if you didn't get everything done.
Don't think you must always perform at 100% of your potential.
Some days it'll be 80% of your potential. Sometimes 50%. Sometimes 30%.
Maybe your goal is to always stay at the gym for an hour.
But on a bad day, you go there anyway. And maybe you spend 45 minutes there. Or 30 minutes.
That's still a success. You showed up. You made progress.
And progress is the thing we desire.
(Cheers to Tom Noske for sharing this idea.)
Idea 9: Practise makes progress
I'm tired of the saying "Practice makes perfect."
It doesn't.
Nobody ever reaches perfection. Nobody.
What is perfection anyway? Who determines it?
You might see things that are perfect. But does the creator of that thing see it as perfect?
Probably not.
When I saw Star Wars: A New Hope for the 1st time - I thought it was perfect.
Later on, I learned George Lucas, the maker of Star Wars, didn't think it had any potential to do well.
Of course, it was a major hit. It's one of the most successful franchises out there.
And I believe, he thought it was done to 70% of its potential. (But I couldn't find a source to confirm this. I read it a long time ago.)
When you think someone thinks it's perfect, it's probably not perfect in their mind.
Like my photos? Most photos I categorize as "ok".
Like my videos? Most videos I categorize as "ok".
Like these Newsletters? Most of these I categorize as "ok".
Only a handful I think are good.
And a few are amazing.
Perfection is subjective.
And you will never reach it.
The more you practise, the more progress you make.
But you never achieve perfection.
(Cheers to Jim Kwik from whom I learned this.)
Idea 10: What's the worst-case scenario?
I know I've written of this quite a bit.
I also wrote about it in the previous letter, read it here.
Often, you overestimate the worst-case scenario.
Get clear on it. And you'll see your anxiety get lower.
Idea 11: Anxiety comes when your brain can't predict what's next
This idea changed everything for me.
I struggled with anxiety a lot. But once I learned the reason behind it, it became much easier to deal with.
Anxiety comes when your brain doesn't know what will happen next.
It doesn't have the data.
That is why you feel anxious when doing new things.
Your brain is alarming you of possible danger as it isn't able to predict the future.
The more experience you have doing something, the more data your brain has.
The more data it has, the better it can predict the future.
The better it thinks it can predict the future, the less anxious you are.
Idea 12: Use the word "yet"
Don't say "I'm not good at X".
Say, "I'm not good at X, yet."
This way, you tell yourself you can learn anything. Which is a fact.
You tell yourself, you could learn it in the future if you want to.
Idea 13: No caffeine after 1 pm.
Many Finns will be weirded when I say this. (We're the biggest coffee consumers in the world):
I don't think one should consume any caffeine after 1 pm. Or noon. Depending on when you go to sleep.
Caffeine stays in your body for 10 hours.
I drink a coffee at around 10:30 am daily. That's my only caffeine of the day.
You might see that's boring. But it's a healthy choice. And gives you an advantage in life, when you get better sleep. (Read more on sleep's importance here.)
Idea 14: Vegetables 1st, fats and protein next.
Food matters way more than most of us understand.
Not only to how we look - but to our emotions and thoughts too.
Your stomach and the brain are connected.
I could talk on this for hours - but let's stick to glucose levels on this one.
You don't want to increase your blood glucose levels.
Why?
Because if you increase them a lot - and often, you will:
1) age faster
2) increase the chances of all kinds of diseases
3) tend to eat more than you should
4) have less energy (which makes productivity harder).
Yes, I am saying even if you don't have diabetes you should be careful with this.
Or well, if you want to live for a long time. And have more energy.
Why are you tired?
It could be down to bad eating habits.
Maybe you eat too much at once. (Some blood from your brain will flow to your stomach. I hope you know what I mean, lol. And thus your brain will become more sleepy.)
Maybe, you eat your food in "the wrong order".
Eat vegetables 1st. It'll give you fibre.
Fiber will give a "protective layer" to your stomach.
Once you eat the rest after that, your glucose levels will increase less.
That's why, I always eat my veggies 1st.
Fats and protein increase glucose the least after veggies, that's why they're next.
I'd never start out with carbs. They increase the glucose levels a lot. (Although, if you're building muscle, this could be beneficial when done right.)
Once starting to eat in this order, I am more fit than ever before - and I have more energy to do things.
And that makes it more likely for me to reach my goals.
Wrapping up
Hope this was interesting and that you learned something new!
I wanted to send you something this week - even though I have been busy with the cohort.
Here's the link to join the for Social Media for Photographers once more.
Hope to see you there. :)
If you enjoyed this Letter, feel free to forward it to your friend.
If you were forwarded, you can subscribe here to receive these yourself (so that your poor friend won't need to forward them to you.)
Till next emails,
Hugo
