Issue #53: Why I Never Learned the Piano
Good morning. It’s Thursday, October 27th. Wait, 300M planets in the Milky Way could support life and we're still figuring out how much toothpaste to use?
Today's read is about motivation so let's get right to it!
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
From the Lab: Finding our True Motivation
Take Action: HEART Goals
Speed Read: Goldilocks x2
Thursday Night In: Sweet Potato Chickpea Coconut Curry
Moment of Fun: Now That's How You Draw
Two groups memorized cards and took a 40-min break - one group napped while the other group stayed awake. After the break, the group that slept remembered 85% of the patterns - the group that stayed awake, only 60%. Sleep, not just naps (Issues #11-15), has a profound impact on learning. 💤 (Study)
From the Lab
So far we’ve covered how to learn and how to stay focused. But none of this matters if we're not motivated.
For years I’ve been saying that I’m going to learn how to play the piano. 🎹
I actually picture myself crushing Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay in front of my wife Laura and our kids - man are they impressed!
*Incidentally this happens to be our wedding song.
Yet for some reason I just haven’t made this a priority and our keyboard continues to collect dust (aside from when the kids decide to play DJ).
Why?
Motivation = Purpose x Energy x Simple Small Steps
Our purpose is the reason to achieve the goal. It answers questions like:
Why do I want this?
How will I use this?
When will I use this?
It’s also important to flip this the other way - what will happen if I don’t do this? Is there a pain for not doing something new?
Finally - James Clear suggests that to really be motivated to stick with something new, it has to align with our identity.
In terms of energy - whether we realize it or not, our mind responds to the sweet spot of something that is a challenge, but not impossible. We’ll never get into the “flow state” (key for learning something new) if we don’t think it’s achievable.*
That’s why we need to start super small and have a plan to take that first step.
*Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
For me - I haven’t convinced myself that I feel like I’m a musician. Whenever I don’t feel like going for a run, I remind myself that I’m an athlete. But the piano just seems too daunting.
Plus that picture in my head is about playing for an audience - albeit a small, friendly audience not 100K people at the Rose Bowl.
I’ll only get started if the motivation is intrinsic for me - not for someone else.
Take Action
We've all heard about SMART Goals. But what about HEART Goals?
Try this when you're thinking about where to spend your time/effort to learn something new:
What do you want to learn, but have struggled to take the first step?
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
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Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
At Least Goldilocks’ Teeth are White: You can go viral telling us how much toothpaste we should use. In 2020, Dr. Gao Jye Teh, a dentist based in the UK, made TikTok fame doing just that. Why 12M views? The correct amount is a pea for adults, and just a smear for kids. Fluoride prevents cavities, but too much can lead to yellow/brown stains to pits in the teeth. Be sure to check out the instructions for your paste in order to get this juuust right. (Health.com)
Since We’re Talking About Goldilocks: I find looking up at the stars wondering if there’s life out there both exhilarating and bewildering. There are ~200 billion trillion stars across 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Umm...that’s a lot. Thanks to a series of missions and high-powered telescopes, NASA and friends continue to discover and catalog exoplanets within the Milky Way - the ticker currently says 5,190 confirmed. Experts believe that of the 1T planets in our galaxy, there are ~300M exoplanets in the habitable (or Goldilocks) zone. So back to the original question - are we alone? With those odds, I gotta believe there’s life out there somewhere. (NatGeo Interactive Image, NASA Exoplanet Travel Bureau) 🪐
Thursday Night In
We had this curry Monday night and it didn't disappoint. We added shrimp, but I'm considering scallops next time. FYI - this was not spicy, more sweet. So if you like spice, explore your favorite options.
The stars of this recipe - sweet potatoes (Issue #3), chickpeas, curry powder - have low glycemic index, are packed with nutrients, contain antioxidants and will leave you feeling full to help limit your caloric intake at night.
Moment of Fun
Maybe I should also add "learning to draw" to my list:
Thanks for joining us today! Get ready for some real inspiration tomorrow to lead us into the weekend! We might need it if the Bucs lose again tonight. 🏈
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