One Question:

Where is the optimal getting in the way of the beneficial?

The ambitious mind can view progress in very binary terms:

• If I don't work out for an hour, I'm not going to make any health progress.
• If I don't have a four hour deep focus block, I'm not going to make any professional progress.
• If I don't have an hour of time with my partner, I'm not going to make any relationship progress.

In other words, the ambitious mind views the optimal as the standard. Anything short of optimal is a failure.

This is (mostly) a good thing, as you hold yourself to a high standard and find the energy to push for growth and progress.

But it also sets a trap that many ambitious people fall into: Letting the optimal get in the way of the beneficial.

Here's the thought process (that may feel familiar):

• I don't have an hour to go to the gym, so I shouldn't go at all.
• I don't have four hours for my deep focus work, so I shouldn't work at all.
• I don't have an hour to spend with my partner, so I shouldn't spend any time with them.

Atomic Habits author James Clear once wrote, "Just because it's not optimal, doesn't mean it's not beneficial."

He is correct.

To fight back against this tendency, ask yourself this question: Where is the optimal getting in the way of the beneficial?

Where are you allowing your high standards to (paradoxically) hold you back?

Once you identify the areas where you are most prone to this cognitive discrepancy, you can get out of your own way.

Remember: When in doubt, move. Anything above zero compounds.

One Quote:

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne

The only competition: You vs. You from yesterday.

(Share this on Twitter!)​

One Framework:

Memory Dividends

Memory Dividends are the continued tail of "payouts" you receive from re-experiencing an experience in the future.

For example, your group of friends decides to book that last minute flight to go see your favorite band perform at an incredible venue. The cost of the flight, concert ticket, and hotel stay is steep, but you decide to do it anyway. The experience is incredible and you have a blast. But it doesn't end when the experience ends—you and your friends reminisce about the evening for years to come. Every single time you get together, you talk about the amazing night and feel those same sensations as though you were there.

Those are Memory Dividends.

The concept of Memory Dividends comes from Bill Perkins' Die With Zero, a book that proposes a (somewhat) radical approach to spending money while you're able to enjoy it.

The central point here is that material purchases are really only happiness-inducing in their initial acquisition, whereas experiences can induce happiness for years and years to come.

I find this framing very helpful, as it connects to my concept of invested vs. spent time.

Experiences can be thought of as an investment, as they pay out a dividend in the future, while most material purchases are just spent.

To live a long, wealthy life, we should all consider investing in more of the experiences that pay us a robust Memory Dividend yield.

One Tweet:

I loved the message behind this tweet.

We burn a lot of energy thinking about where we think we should be, where others think we should be, and where we've been.

Focus on where you are: Make one good decision, then another one, then another one.

P.S. I really enjoyed Brad's book.

One Article:

​Resentment: The Silent Relationship Killer​

This is a great piece on resentment and how it can slowly creep into an otherwise healthy relationship (especially after the arrival of kids).

The whole article is worth a read.

This chart was shocking...

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