deepstash
Beta
How to Become a Big Thinker
Set a Deadline
A deadline is a way to make a dream more concrete—which is what thinking big is about. A deadline also creates a sense of urgency that motivates you to take action.
Set a deadline to your goals and if you get stuck, ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen if you don’t do it.
87 SAVES
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
8
Key Ideas
"Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much an..."
Albert Einstein
Daniel Coyle
"Our brains evolved to learn by doing things, not by hearing about them. This is one of the reasons that, for a lot of skills, it’s much better to spend about two thirds of your time testing yourself on it rather than absorbing it."
Telling Others About Your Pursuit
It can keep you accountable, but it can also lead to a false sense of completeness. One way to avoid sabotaging yourself is to state your goal as a commitment rather than progress towards the finished product.
4
Key Ideas
Motivation and creative work
Intrinsic motivation is necessary for creative work. We need broad thinking, so we can come up with innovative ideas and see new connections.
Extrinsic motivation narrows our thinking by focusing on getting the task done so we can earn the reward. It's providing you an external incentive to work hard.
Elements of intrinsic motivation
The 3 elements required for intrinsic motivation:
- Autonomy: it's about choice - when you believe you have a choice, you're more motivated.
- Mastery: it's about wanting to get better at something that matters.
- Purpose: it comes from believing you're working on something that's bigger than yourself.
Knowing our work helps others
When we know that our work will make a difference to someone else, it makes us work harder.
Try to reach out to the people who directly benefit from your work. This could boost your motivation to work hard.
8
Key Ideas
Failure Is Inevitable
Most of us fail in our endeavors at some point in our lives, whether it's a New Year's resolution or a health goal you are working on. These setbacks make us human, not a failure.
Our willpower and motivation are not what makes us succeed, but our dusting ourselves up and getting back in the game.
Schedule Your Habits
Schedule your habits by giving them a specific space in your daily waking hours. You can put it in your calendar, or link it to your current behavior patterns.
Create a system around your existing life to incorporate the new habit.
Stick to Your Schedule
Even doing something small towards your goal can help build a daily routine.
Example: Instead of skipping the morning jog entirely due to lack of time, one can jog for a few minutes.