<ol><li>How do you know the right answer? You don’t. </li><li>Nobody knows the best bus, but if you want to fulfill your potential you must choose one. </li><li>This is one of the central tensions of life. It’s your choice, so you must choose.</li><li>And once you do, STAY ON THE BUS.</li></ol>

You Have the Choice 

"Stay on the bus. Stay on the f*cking bus. Because if you do, in time, you will begin to see a difference.”The buses that move out of Helsinki stay on the same line, but only for a while—maybe a kilometer or two. Then they begin to separate, each number heading off to its own unique destination. It’s the separation that makes all the difference. And once you start to see that difference in your work from the work you so admire—that’s why you chose that platform after all—it’s time to look for your breakthrough. Suddenly your work starts to get noticed.

“Stay on the Bus”

<img src="https://jamesclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/stay-on-the-bus.jpg"><ol><li>Stay on the bus. </li><li>Go on your own unique different route while staying on the bus. </li><li>Keep on doing that (specialisation, focus & deliberate consistency), progress & improve. </li><li>Reach the destination that you're meant to reach. </li><li>Repeat. </li></ol><ul><li>This applies to all areas of life - career, relationships, health, spiritual practice, etc. </li></ul>

How to Achieve Your Goals / Destination Easily With Predictability 

<ol><li>Mastery requires consistency. That includes ideas like <a href="https://jamesclear.com/repetitions">putting in your reps</a>, <a href="https://jamesclear.com/average-speed">improving your average speed</a>, and <a href="https://jamesclear.com/stay-focused">falling in love with boredom</a>.</li><li>The key feature of The Helsinki Bus Station Theory is that it urges you to not simply do more work, but to do more re-work.</li></ol>

Consistency Lead to Success

A lot of people put in 10,000 hours. Very few people put in 10,000 hours of revision. The only way to do that is to stay on the bus.

<ol><li>We are all creators in some capacity. </li><li>Any creator who tries to move society forward will experience failure.</li><li>Too often, we respond to these failures by calling a cab and getting on another bus line. Maybe the ride will be smoother over there.</li><li>Instead, we should stay on the bus and commit to the hard work of revisiting, rethinking, and revising our ideas.</li><li>In order to do that, however, you must answer the toughest decision of all. Which bus will you ride? </li><li>What story do you want to tell with your life? </li><li>What craft do you want to spend your years revising and improving?</li></ol>

Which Bus Will You Ride?

<ol><li>Average college students learn ideas once. The best college students re-learn ideas over and over. </li><li>Average employees write emails once. Elite novelists re-write chapters again and again. </li><li>Average fitness enthusiasts mindlessly follow the same workout routine each week. The best athletes actively critique each repetition and constantly improve their technique. </li><li>It is the revision that matters most.</li><li>By staying on the bus, you give yourself time to re-work and revise until you produce something unique, inspiring, and great. </li><li>It’s only by staying on board that mastery reveals itself. </li></ol>

It’s Not the Work, It’s the Re-Work

<ol><li>Re-work being more important than more work.</li><li>Showing up matters. It’s better to go to class than to skip the lecture. It’s better to respond to your emails than to not write them. It’s better to go to the gym than to avoid working out. </li><li>For top performers the key is re-work, not simply more work.</li><li>Re-work eventually produces the type of works that's distinct and unique to your own vision, strength and individuality. </li><li>The result is that creative sparks that makes your work unique from the others.</li><li>It's like sharpening your own knife to the shape that's yours truly.</li></ol>

JAMES CLEAR

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