An insidious pattern among smart people is feeling that because something is familiar and obvious, you are impervious to ignoring or forgetting it. In challenging times, I have often heard these clichés and reflexively shrugged them off.
“Oh, I should dust myself off and pick myself up? What a lazy aphorism. What a patronising throwaway line. They must think I’m some kind of idiot. No, it must be something else…”
There is a filter in many people’s heads that functions to ignore clichés on the basis that they are mere clichés. However, looking closely at your actions, decisions and attitudes will almost invariably reveal you are dropping the ball on at least a few of the most obvious bits of pop wisdom that are all clearly good practices.
Some (non exhaustive) examples of these “yeah, obviously” pieces of advice that are worth deliberately checking on a regular basis include:
- Believe in yourself
The greatest example of an eye-rolling cliché is also one of the highest impact pieces of advice ever articulated. Self-belief is the foundation of morale, and without morale, you are doomed. If the words “believe in yourself” evoke a sense of exasperation when you hear them, that’s probably a bad sign. Do you believe in yourself?
- Look on the bright side
Often offered as a generic pacifier when nothing practical seems to be available - and nonetheless essential. Looking on the bright side is not a logical fallacy. No human is so clever as to transcend the need to find silver linings in favour of ruthless “objectivity”. Believing most facts about a thing are negative, and therefore it will do no good to regard the positives, is a surefire way to render yourself miserable and ineffective. Are you looking on the bright side?
- The 80/20 rule
A more modern aphorism - that most of your outputs come from a minority of your inputs, and it behooves you to focus on the most productive inputs. Many smart people will pay lip service to this but ignore it and waste their day with busywork. The 80% of low ROI outputs still matter to an extent, but this is often used as a thoughtless excuse to do nothing to shift the balance of your efforts toward the most beneficial, productive ones. Are you applying the 80/20 principle?
- Sleep well
Everyone knows that sleeping well will improve your productivity, health, and quality of life. Yet, it is common for people to chortle when this is suggested as a contributor to their problems. “Yeah, that sleep thing is great, but you see, I’m really busy right now, so it doesn’t apply to me at the moment. I’m sure that advice is great for other people, but for my case - it must be something else”. Are you sleeping well?
- Live in the moment
It is nearly impossible to be happy and productive when you are constantly lamenting the past, or worrying about the future. Many capable people will endlessly agonise over “analysing” (ruminating on) their past mistakes, and doing “feasibility checks” (worrying) about everything they might attempt. We spend almost half of our waking hours this way. Ruminating wears a disguise of due diligence, so it’s easy to fall for the trap of ignoring the saccharine cliché of living in the moment. How much subjective time are you spending outside the present moment?
If things aren’t going the way you’d like them to go, it may be a good idea to stop and check if you are applying the obvious, cliché advice you have heard all your life.
You may be surprised how many “no duh” habits you are missing, and the vastly better life you can live if you actually apply them.
Discuss