This is part two in my series on Improving Your Odds for Success. Last week we discussed the theoretical underpinnings.
In case you’ve decided to take this year to effect positive change in your life, having access to a couple of resources will help.
Resource 1: A Notebook
If to improve the odds of success you’ve decided to take my suggestion and move from a wish-driven strategy to a work-driven strategy it will be critical to to take note and learn from what is causing success as well as failure.
Although you can use computers to take notes I have found that, despite making me feel more productive, they seem to siphon away my attention from the very events I should be paying attention to. As a result, I use pen and paper to capture my notes and thoughts longhand.
Indeed, if awareness and learning are goals in your life, recent research by Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer suggests you might consider doing the same: Students who took notes on paper learned more than those who used laptops. Further, their studies revealed that:
Those who wrote out their notes by hand had a stronger conceptual understanding and were more successful in applying and integrating the material.
Looking for a good notebook? Over the years I’ve tried all sorts and my favorite is the Leuchtturm 1917 (leuchtturm is the German word for lighthouse and 1917 is when the company was founded). Also, in case you’re worried about being without a writing instrument, consider carrying a small pen as backup.
Resource 2: A Collaborator
Looking for someone to hold you accountable to your New Year’s resolutions? Regrettably, when it comes to effecting personal change in your life, accountability is something you’re going to have to figure out on your own. Sorry.
The fact is, having someone tell you the quart of ice cream you’re eating is detracting from your personal mission to lose weight probably isn’t going to be particularly helpful. Inherently you know that already, having established the mission to lose weight in the first place.
Instead of looking for someone to hold you accountable, consider someone who will help you to review and analyze data and, informed by those data, offer suggestions and challenge assumptions. There is a big difference here. In one case, you’ve got a boss; in the other, a collaborator or a partner.
Before I check out for the week, speaking of great collaborators, here are Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris singing their duet “This is Us.”
Cheers…xian
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