Tag: self improvement

Posted in Life

How about an upgrade?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

One of the email newsletters I receive on a weekly basis includes an invitation to “upgrade yourself.” I receive the free edition, but a paid subscription promises “exclusive content, access to an online community, hand-edited podcast transcripts, ad-free everything, early access, and more.” It’s a clever tease. I’m not asked to upgrade my subscription, but myself. Who doesn’t want to be a better version of themselves?

I live in a world of upgrades. I upgrade my phone iOS, computer macOS, and web browsers several times a month. (It only seems like every day.) I have to. I dare not skip a security update. I need the newest features. And I hate seeing the little round circle on an icon reminding me that I am not up-to-date.

The encouragement to upgrade myself suggests that I could be better, happier and more productive than I am right now. Didn’t I just write about continual improvement? If I’m not improving, am I getting worse? I don’t like the sound of that.

What if I’ve already been the best version of myself? I know I’ll never run as fast as I did in my twenties. I have more scars than I used to. My hair isn’t dark anymore. My shoulders keep saying, “Hey, don’t do that!” I’ve already upgraded my eyes (cataract surgery and implants), my teeth (caps on molars), and my skin (the dermatologist cleaned up a few spots here and there).

So what would be a better version of me? It’s probably looks like someone else. Someone who’s smarter, happier, wealthier, more attractive, and has more friends. But that’s not me. That’s them.

The best version of me? I’m the only version of me, for better or worse. I don’t need an upgrade.

Posted in fitness, Life

Little additions, big gains

Posted on by William Douthwaite

One and one quarter pounds. That’s all it was. I know, it doesn’t seem like much. But what a difference!

I was pretty excited when I spied these little bitty plates at the gym. They were bright yellow; impossible to miss. Yet, dwarfed by racks fulled with forty-five pound plates and fifty pound dumbbells, they were easy to overlook.

Before this, the smallest plates were two and a half pounds. That meant you had to go up at least five pounds in weight if you want to lift more. Maybe it’s all in my head, or maybe it really is a physical thing, but it’s hard to add another five pounds onto a bar that already feels like all you can push or pull. But two pounds? That doesn’t seem like much at all. Of course I can lift another two pounds!

They make even smaller plates, so you can go up as little as a half-pound if you want. Those small, incremental gains will add up to big results over time.

This is only one application of the 1% rule that someone wrote about somewhere. If you do just 1% more each day, then you will be thirty-seven times better at something in a year. I think it’s called the art of continual improvement.

Let’s say you have time to read one page of a book per day. Tomorrow, read one page plus one more line. The day after, read two extra lines. Before you know it, you’ll be reading four or five pages a day.

Add one-hundredth of a mile to your mile walk each day. Get up (opr go to bed) one-half minute earlier each day. Write five more words in your journal than you did yesterday. Eat one more bite of something green.

What’s your one percent?