Minimum Regular Dose

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”_Jim Watkins

Why do so many of us fail to keep new resolutions—especially, the ones accompanying a new year?

According to widespread records, more than 80% of us do.

Is it because change is too hard? 

Or is it because the majority of people are weaklings?

Now, how do we train ourselves to become the type of persons who can make new decisions and live by them?

If you have interests in these kinds of questions, this article is written for you.

First of all, know that winning at anything is not really complicated once we understand the process of progress. 

Winning is the natural consequence of unshakable consistency at doing whatever it is that we need to do to achieve the result we want. That level of consistency is nurtured by momentum, and momentum is the engine of real success.

The reason many of us fail to accomplish certain things is simply because we lack the momentum necessary to propel us toward the destination of desire. 

Therefore, the idea of today is to suggest a strategy for creating such momentum, which will contribute more to our self-efficacy and personal effectiveness.

However, the proposed idea is in contrast to setting a daunting goal and facing it with grand acts of grit that are beyond the capacity of most people. It is not about using superhuman strength to force our way to victory.

It is about using a slow but steady pressure to create a momentum for success. It is about choosing to be a tortoise rather than a hare. It is the strategy of minimum regular dose (MRD) of right actions and essential inputs.

To create a minimum regular dose for a goal, ask yourself this question: “What is the smallest version of my goal that, if started early and repeated daily can cumulatively get me the timely result I want in the nearest future?”

To be clear, this doesn’t mean our ambition should be cut down to size; quite the contrary!  Our goals should be as high as we can imagine but the necessary daily actions should be set at the barest minimum of potency and effectiveness.  

As you may know, I synthesize my phrase (Minimum Regular Dose) from the term, ‘Minimum Effective Dose’ used by Tim Ferris, the author of the bestselling book, ‘4-Hour Work Week.’ In a nutshell: the concept is all about the least effective steps we need to consistently take for steady progression and ultimate achievement of the goal that we have chosen. 

For example: If we need to take only three steps consistently, we don’t allow our ambition drive us to plan for seven. We deliberately strategize for the minimum viable move that is essential for the realization of our purpose.

So, instead of starting with the gritty approach that we may not be able to sustain in the long-run, we adopt the minimum regular dose, as a reliable method to accomplish the goal of our choice.  

Clearly, the way to ensure consistent right action is to design something you can maintain. The concept of minimum regular dose will guarantee your progress and eventual success on any goal that you may seek. 

When you effectively design a minimum regular dose of action, you instantly create a defense against burnout and the possibility of failure. 

For example: instead of thinking to read the whole encyclopedia in a burst (which may never happen), you apportion the content by certain number of pages per day (e.g. three pages a day). 

This is tangible enough to establish the good habit of daily reading and it is easy enough for almost anyone to sustain. The beauty of this strategy is that, it is easy to stick to. Even on a very turbulent day, you can still find a way to read just three pages. 

And that continuous success generates in you the identity of someone who can live by their plans, especially when it is easier not to. Here in lies the amazing windfall of minimum regular dose: the force of a new identity.

Now, after you have accomplished your daily minimum, you can still choose to go further on some days, and the progress you are making will strengthen your confidence to do even better, the next day. As a result, you will be anticipating tomorrow’s turn, rather than dreading it.

Finally, once momentum fully takes over, you can eventually achieve beyond what you had initially imagined. In other words, your original resolution is practically guaranteed. That is the power of minimum regular dose.

Checklist: A Surefire Tool of High-Level Functionality

"The checklist is one of the most high powered productivity tool ever discovered. If you don't have a checklist, you're much more likely to forget something."_Brian Tracy

Few years ago, in the city where I lived, a five-story building near completion fell and crumbled to the ground in an instant. It was a colossal loss of lives and money.

As investigation revealed, the collapse was totally preventable; it happened because the site engineer had neglected an essential step in the process of construction. 

This incident is what inspired today’s article. And it is intended to safeguard us from a preventable mistake like this in the construction of our own projects. So, I am going to share a practical tool that we can benefit from, if we are willing to use it, in any area of our lives. 

Though it is not something extraordinary by definition but its value can be huge. What I am referring to, is just a simple list of all the steps necessary that we outline—beforehand—for the realization of any outcome that we desire. 

To get the idea of its value, we need to recognize that, the heavy loss suffered in the above narration would have been avoided, if the site engineer had rightly made use of a checklist.

Atul Gawande is a renowned surgeon who published a book entitled: ‘The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.’ In the book, he writes: 

“Checklists turn out...to be among the basic tools of the quality and productivity revolution in aviation, engineering, construction - in virtually every field combining high risk and complexity.”

And he continues by saying that: “Checklists seem lowly and simplistic, but they help fill in for the gaps in our brains and between our brains.”

As humans we are far from perfect. Not even the smartest and the brightest of men is completely free from making a mistake or omitting a step in a process. No one is infallible, except God, the Almighty. 

So to ensure necessary safeguards when the stakes are high, it is important that we make use of a checklist. 

Steven Levitt, the co-author of the book, ‘Freakonomics’ thinks in this direction. He admits: “No matter how expert you may be, well-designed checklists can improve outcomes.”

Evidently, forgetfulness can cause things to go very wrong. This is true, whether we are looking at the construction industry, the airline industry, medical sector or any business for that matter; this is even true in our personal lives. 

So if we want to function at our best in any capacity, checklists need to become our functional companion.

Let’s Prepare Our Checklist Now

The thing to keep in mind about an effective checklist is that it should be designed based on what is essential. To be clear, an essential step is a step that can cause a trouble if missed or forgotten.

 

Therefore, the main goal of a checklist is to prevent human error, thereby ensuring that we do things the right way at the very first time.  

To create an effective checklist, we should avoid making the list too long as Atul Gawande concludes in his book:

"Good checklists are to the point, and easy to use. They do not try to spell out everything. Instead, they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps."

Now, if we adhere to checklists, things will go quite right. We won’t have to think about every single step. Since the steps are already written and organized, we can easily direct all our attention to what really needs to get done.

Finally, with the right use of a well-designed checklist, we can ensure high-level consistent performance in any field of practice, even the most convoluted ones.

Let’s Consume Less and Contribute More

“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.”_Tony Robbins

In the nineteenth century, a poverty-stricken youth decided to join the workforce like many of his peers. He began with a meager pay of two cents an hour. 

However, he was a little different from most of his peers. He was different by the nature of his thoughts; the young lad had a strong desire, not just to earn a living but to help as many people as he could.

Though he started at lowest rung of the ladder—first as factory worker, then a bill logger, and a messenger boy—he nurtured the ambition of a hero; the outer condition of his life seemed like that of a slave, but inwardly, he cherished the aspirations of a king.

Evidently, the Scottish steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie, learned an important lesson early in his life: the secret to everlasting fulfillment is hidden in making generous contributions to the lives of others.

Carnegie wanted to be rich, not for mere vanity and extravagance but for the privilege to assist those less fortunate than him. As a result, he worked diligently to improve the lowly condition of his life, so that he could be in position to offer help to those in need.

And with God’s special grace, Andrew became one of the richest men on earth, earning hundreds of millions of dollars at the time, and in harmony with his lofty vision; he selflessly gave it all away. He realized his long cherished dream to leave an indelible mark in the strand of time. 

Carnegie is a classic proof of the fact that greatness is less about by what we can get, and more about the good we can contribute to the lives of others. It is through selfless service that all great personalities have carved their names in the plaque of history.

At this point, the purpose of this article should be clear. It is meant to stir us to think of the unique contributions we can make to the world in which we live. 

In the end, it is not what we generously offer that is lost; it will somehow come back to us in manifold. It is only what we selfishly devour that will eventually amount to nothing. 

Put another way: you will never be revered for what you gather, but you will be remembered for the good you scatter. In the words of an Indian non-violent activist, Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Give Some Good Away

“It is the height of selfishness to merely consume what others create and to retreat into a shell of limited goals and immediate pleasures.”_ Robert Greene

The meaning in our lives is proportionate to the degree of the contribution we can make in service to the Creator for the benefit of everything He has created.

So, let’s choose to consume less and produce more. Let’s choose to actively contribute to the world that surrounds us. And an American philanthropist, Milton Hershey aimed to encourage us in this direction when he wrote: “One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy and only useful as he contributes his influences for the finer callings in life.”

Moreover, we don’t need to have hundreds of millions to thread the path of kindness. All we need is the heart of mercy. It is all we need to make the world a better place to live, and it is all we need to bring lasting meaning into our lives.

Now, if you forget everything in this article, I want you to remember this one question: “What small thing can I do to make a positive contribution toward my community today?”

Please ponder over that and take it to heart.

Finally, we don’t feel most alive when we saturate ourselves with everything we could receive from other people but we feel most alive when we saturate the world around us with the best of ourselves. 

We feel most alive when we embody the change that we wish to see in the world.

Comfort Zone: How We Can Step Beyond It

“Life begins at the end of your Comfort Zone. So if you`re feeling uncomfortable right now, know that the change taking place in your life is a beginning, not an ending.”

Neale Donald Walsch

First, what’s the meaning of comfort level or comfort zone?

Encarta Dictionary gives us an answer. 

It defines comfort zone as: “A set of physical or psychological circumstances in which somebody feels most at ease and free from physical discomfort or stress.”

As humans we like any arrangement or setup that can provide us with maximum safety and deepest calm. We derive comfort from a place or situation of ease and familiarity. 

Though it can sometimes be renewing to retreat to the haven of serenity after some significant accomplishments, yet taking a permanent residence at the zone of comfort is not the best way to live. It is an invitation to stagnation. 

The law of life is growth, so much so that even the most precious of gemstones needs to be continually polished to achieve and maintain its brightest luster. 

No one can find lasting joy within the constraining zone of short-term comfort. We find real fulfillment through meaningful adventure, new experiences and perpetual growth. 

So if we desire the next level of excitement, then we need to stretch ourselves beyond our current level of comfort. 

Now let’s review of a few tips we can use to do just that.

Tips of Expansion

Here are three tips we can use to expand our comfort zone and continually develop our mental and physical muscles.

1} Competition:

 

If we want to stretch beyond our limits, one of the best ways to do that is to get involved in a competition. 

You see, when we don’t engage in any challenge to grow—like an exam or a contest— we can easily be tempted to remain in the zone of mediocrity. 

Undoubtedly, competitions make us better. Even when we lose, our muscles still get stretched and we become stronger as a result.

2} Atomic Moves:

It's natural for us to not want to change because frankly, change is hard; so, to make it as easy as possible, we need to break our big goals down into their atomic components.

Then, we focus on one atomic step at a time. This steady approach will give us momentum to stick with pursuing our goals until we achieve the results we can be proud of.

3} Progress:

The point here is to seek comfort in progress. By this, I mean we should make progress the goal—not ease. 

We should see change from the lens of greater rewards it can bring into our lives and see our current zone of comfort for its apparent drawbacks. 

We need to realize that progress is what will take us away from the zone of limitations to the zone of possibilities. The zone of possibilities is what I call ‘the zone of growth.’

We should always strive for growth despite the initial discomfort that we may feel because that is where new life begins; progress is expansive and expansion comes from growth.

In conclusion, some people would rather die within the zones of mediocrity than dare to explore the larger world of unlimited possibilities that lie beyond it. But this is not for us. 

You and I need to resolve to fulfill our potential, which is all about constant and never ending improvements in essential areas of our lives. 

Bear in mind that good life is not about continuous comfort; good life is about continuous growth, continuous contribution and continuous advancement.