Hello everyone, this is a great time of year to look back at the previous year and see what’s working best. If you’re familiar with the 80/20 rule, you know that 80% of your output is generated by the top 20% of your input; the trick is realizing what that 20% is for you.
Because of negativity bias, humans tend to pour too much energy into things we would be better off cutting out so we can put more energy into what’s actually working. Add in pride and a dose of ego, and you can get a recipe for disaster; but you can avoid a lot of that pain if you focus on what’s working and continue to improve on that thing. Anyone who’s ever had an investment that didn’t work out knows what that pain feels like firsthand, and the most disciplined investors I follow set rules that limit their losses so they can take what’s left of the investment and put it into something that’s working. They realize that without rules in place, they would hang on too long.
It’s good to look ahead and see what the market may do in the future so you can adjust accordingly and be prepared, but there’s so much value that can be recognized by pouring most of your energy into what’s working and just tweak that to fit market changes. By figuring out what’s working, you can also recognize what isn’t and make a plan to improve. This can be difficult for people who like to look for the biggest problems and focus on those, but it’s worth the effort to realize that behavior isn’t the highest value and adjust. This applies to your personal life as well. If you find you have more energy and motivation after spending time with a particular person or group; spend more time with them and less time with people who seem to drag you down for example.
Take some time this week to figure out what’s working so you can put your energy into the people and projects who bring the most value!
Austin Senecal: Start Small 