TEN Simple Small Steps to Win in 2022

Ten Choices To Win The New Year

Stop Caring

• This doesn’t mean stop being compassionate or caring about others.
• It means stop caring about what other people think.
• This is a big one, which is why it’s first, but it’s also easier said than done.
• If you feel like you’re fueling your life on the opinions of those around you—even if it’s positive—then you’re going to run out of gas sooner rather than later.
• Nobody has the right to define who you are.
• The only opinion about your dreams that really count are yours.
• You are doing yourself a giant disservice when you let the noise of other people’s opinions drive you.
• They can distort your reality, subvert your own thoughts, divert your values, and drown your inner voice.
• That’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t learn from people.
• Be open to feedback.
• But know that you alone are responsible for your life.
• Don’t only audit your internal voice, but stand guard to what you let into your mind when it comes to low opinions of other people.

Stop Complaining

• This is something everyone does.
• You can make excuses or you can make progress, but you can’t make both.
• From a functional standpoint, when you’re thinking about winning the New Year, complaining is useless.
• Complaining wastes valuable time and energy, and it doesn’t actually accomplish anything.
• Excuses are useless, and in that same vein, wishes are also useless.
• You can’t be upset by the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.
• You don’t want to wish for something, you want to work for it.
• It’s easy to talk about doing something, but it’s always better to show it. Don’t promise something, prove it.
• Accept responsibility for your thoughts and ownership of your actions.
• When you become accountable to your commitments and learn from your mistakes, the results will follow.

Stop Criticizing

• Remember that stopping can also include reducing. Focus on the progress.
• This process is not about being perfect, it’s about personal progress.
• And part of that is being able to lighten up.
• When you let go of self-criticism or self-judgement, you can focus that energy and effort into growing the things you love and care about most.
• And when you’re focusing on growth, you don’t have time to judge or criticize yourself.
• In those moments when you start to criticize or judge yourself, pause and try observing yourself instead.
• Criticism leads to self-doubt, but curiosity leads to self-awareness, self-growth, and self-improvement.
• Curiosity lets you look at yourself in a new light.
• Replace criticism with curiosity.
• Get to know yourself in new ways.

Stop Comparison

• This is another difficult one.
• In my book, Limitless, I talk about digital dementia, digital distraction, digital deduction, and digital deluge.
• But I also talk about digital depression where there’s a tendency to compare yourself to the highlight trailer of everyone else’s life.
• If you only look at people’s online and social media lives, it’s easy to believe the grass is greener on their side of the app.
• But the grass is greener where you nourish it.
• And just because it looks greener doesn’t mean it’s not a filter or artificial turf.
• Envy is the thief of joy.
• When you let jealousy get the best of you, it often brings out the worst in you. It rarely solves anything and it builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.
• Joy and happiness are found when you stop comparing yourself to other people.
• Dr. Daniel Amen talks about brain envy.
• If you think someone else is smart and you’re jealous, look deeper because genius leaves clues.
• So don’t compare yourself to anybody but your best self.
• Again, it’s not about being perfect, it’s about progress.
• Put consistent effort every single day and that will lead to small, incremental improvements over time.
• Consistency compounds: little by little, a little becomes a lot.
• Do the best you can with what you have, on your own timelines, and that’s how transformation happens.

Start Clarifying

• What keeps us from mastery is the belief that we already know the answer.
• Approach anything—even if you’ve heard it before—with new ears and eyes.
• I’m not a big fan of resolutions because the statistics around people who make New Year’s resolutions and stick to them aren’t great.
• But clarity is something you can strive for on a daily or weekly basis.
• Clarity is found by asking yourself clarifying questions.
• Things like: what is most important to you in your life? What is most important to your education? To your relationships? To your career or your contributions?
• These are meant to focus and clarify your values.
• And then ask a second clarifying question: Are your actions aligned with your values?
• If you feel burnt out or exhausted, maybe it isn’t from doing too much. Maybe it’s because you’re doing too little of what lights you up.

Start Caring

• This podcast is all about self-care, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one.
• Self-care is not selfish.
• Make sure you take time for yourself.
• This doesn’t mean it takes a lot of time.
• Shift your focus to the things that matter.
• Prioritize sleep. Take ten minutes to meditate.
• Find time for self-care.

Start Contributing

• Chronic stress shrinks the human brain and chronic fear suppresses the immune system.
• There’s an entire area of science called psychoneuroimmunology dedicated to studying these effects.
• It can make you more susceptible for colds, flus, and other viruses.
• One antidote to fear is contribution.
• When you put your focus on somebody else, it creates positivity, momentum, and hope.
• As you know, we donated 100% of the profits from Limitless to charities like Alzheimer’s Research and building schools for children who don’t have access.
• You learn, to earn, so you can return.
• Think about how you can invest some of your time, talent, and treasure to make a difference.

Start Being Creative

• This is a great time to be creative.
• Think about what you want to create in the New Year.
• You’ve heard me talk about how William Shakespeare created some of his most incredible masterpieces during the great plague.
• Have your to-do list, but also have your to-create list.
• Maybe it’s something you want to build physically, something you want to write, or learn.
• Creativity will help you win because the future belongs to the creatives.
• A lot of future jobs and work are going to go to artificial intelligence but the things that are truly limitless are your ability to solve problems and to imagine.
• This also goes back to clarity. Having a vision for your life is having clarity.
• Schedule ten minutes a day to journal, to write, to have fun, and to create.

Start Developing Your Capabilities

• You have a to-do list, but what’s on your to-learn list?
• If you want to learn more in the New Year, you have to prioritize your learning.
• The future belongs to the learners.
• The faster and the more you can learn, the faster and more you can earn.
• You have unfettered access to podcasts, YouTube, and the internet to learn whatever you want.
• But even more important than learning is learning how to learn.
• If you can learn how to focus and concentrate, to remember things, to study better, to read faster, understand more, make better decisions, and think critically, then you can apply that towards everything in your life.
• Everything you want to do and study gets easier when you learn how to learn.

Start Engaging Your Community

• You’ve heard this before: How do you become limitless in a limited world? Together.
• It may be cheesy but it’s true.
• Together everyone achieves more—TEAM.
• That’s why we’re here, to have each other’s backs and brains.
• It’s not just about your neurological networks, it’s your social networks.
• Think about how you can participate more, give more, and create your community.

Start Small

• Like everything, it’s best to start small.
• What’s the tiniest step you can take today to make progress towards your goals for this year? Or this quarter?
• You’ll never change your life until you decide to change something you do, especially on a daily level.
• The treasure you seek is often hidden in your daily routines and the things you’re avoiding.
• What you’re going to focus on is a choice. What are you going to be, do, and cherish in the moment?
• Eventually those small choices, those small, simple steps are going to become habits that will affect the big decisions you make and lead to the results in your life.
• Your life is the greatest project you’re ever going to get to work on.
• Do not downgrade your dreams to meet the current situation. Upgrade your mindset, motivation, and methods so you are able to meet your destiny.
• I want to remind you that there’s a version of yourself that you haven’t met yet. The goal is show up every single day until you’re introduced.
• Be sure to check out the unedited, extended episode on YouTube, here.

Share With Us

• Take a screenshot and tag me (@JimKwik) and share one thing you’re going to stop and one thing you’re going to start.
• If you’re interested in learning more about our courses, where we go beyond the free content and do deep learning, go to www.KwikLearning.com.