Given: You got stuck and nothing seems to help you make progress.
Then: Create a lever to help you overcome your limitations.
To better understand how levers help you get unstuck, we have to take a closer look at the mechanics of a lever.
Here's how it works: when you want to lift something heavy, like a big rock, you can use a rigid bar (lever arm) to make the task easier. When you push down on one end of the bar, the other end goes up, lifting the rock with less effort.
The secret to a lever is something called a pivot point. Adding the pivot point to the right spot and using a long enough bar allows you to move heavy things with a gentle push.
A lever amplifies an input force to provide a greater output force, also known as leverage.
Leverage is all about lifting heavy stuff without using too much muscle power. Just the thing you need to pull you out of the swamp.
I’ve talked about how the physics laws govern our world before, and levers are no exception. Think of your body: bones act as lever arms, joints act as pivots, and muscles provide the effort forces to move loads.
If you are an investor, you can increase your potential returns by using a smaller amount of your own capital and borrowing the remaining funds to finance an investment. This is called financial leverage.
However, leveraging can go beyond mechanics and investments.
I’ve already introduced you to two of my favorite productivity tools: The Nothing Alternative and The “Do Something“ Principle. But what do you do when neither seems to work?
As a software engineer, I ask a peer to join me in a pair programming session when I get stuck. This enhances our productivity, and we also get to share the knowledge within the team, reduce the defect rate, and improve the system design. But you don’t have to be a programmer to ask a colleague to help you with your task. Two brains are better than one and you’ll also be on a roll in no time.
Another space where leverage is useful is when you want to adopt a new habit or change a behavior.
I’ve been trying to make running part of my life for years. But it never stuck. Last year, my friend started training for the semi-marathon (hi Bogdan 👋) and I slowly started joining him in the easy runs. Now I’m training for my first 10k competition and I run at least once per week. If it hadn't been for my friend's support, running would have still been a wish on my list.
Like running, I tried adopting a healthy breakfast but I never succeeded. I used to start my morning with a coffee with milk and eat breakfast at noon. Then I realized that it would be better for me if instead I would leverage this habit and adopt an intermediate fasting lifestyle. The only thing I had to do was to stop adding milk to my morning coffee. As a side effect, I also stopped late-night snacks and have a more stable weight overall.
However, it’s not always obvious how to create or find leverage to support you in your process. But you can start by getting into the right mindset:
Who is already where I want to be and how could she help me get there?
What is one habit I currently have that I could leverage to adopt this new behavior?
What is the least resistant path I could take to get me closer to my goal?
Creating leverage when you feel stuck is a great way to get boosted towards your goals and it feels amazing when you break trough the ceiling.
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Regards,
Alex from The Craftsman Mindset