The New Years Cut
Level 3: Master of the Mundane
Future Guardian,
There's nothing like a new year to really pressure encourage you to be a new you.
It's a time for change!
A time to start a new workout!
Start a new diet!
Make new habits!
Live cleaner!
Live healthier!
Walk more!
Spend more time with your kids!
Do more crafts!
Read more books!
more
more
more
more
more
Let me propose something RADICAL to you.
(Astute readers, TGA+ members, and Guardians 'ought to know where I'm going with this)
Instead of adding more ....
Cut.
Don't make it a New Years Resolution ...
Make it a New Years Cut.
Don't promise to add something new. Instead remove something completely.
Now.
I actually meant to write this article last week. But I had a hard time getting past the simplicity of the above. After all ... that can be the entire article.
I can just ...
Wait for it ...
cut the rest.
(cue laugh track)
BUT,
There was something missing. And Dr. Jeff's words stood out to me in the midst of this instead.
I ended up writing last weeks article pondering the feeling I get when I listen to those words - "don't try to tell the story in advance1."
In that article,
commented his experience of going through the very same thoughts. We ended up having an interesting and useful conversation about it on The Guardian call this past Monday.He had some perspectives I hadn't considered (relating my thoughts to the explore/exploit barbell).
And it also helped me realize the real impetus for how I got to that article. As I said, that wasn't the one I'd intended to write, but in the midst of pondering this idea on cutting, Dr. Jeff's words popped out at me.
Several days later, I realize, my state of "open loop" on the idea of cutting made it possible for Dr. Jeffs words to stand out above others,
And they did so for a reason.
"What can I cut" is something I've asked myself nearly daily for the previous couple months, allowing that to float in the ether of life and come back to me ...
It did, and I didn't even realize it.
The fictitious discussion in last week's article was indeed stemming from Dr. Jeff Spencers words "don't try to fill the story in advance," but those words stuck to me for a particular reason ...
Because if there's anything really useful for me personally to cut it's my expectations of what could happen.
Which is a bit of a different take on how I wrote about it.
But I think that's the power of cutting.
In the context of "don't try to fill the story in advance," we can explore how to move forward without allowing ourselves to prevision what is going to happen -- but we also butt up against the fair and (for me) unresolved argument about the nature of plans, structure, and executing on exploitive actions (I'm not going to go deep on explore/exploit here - but comment below if you'd like me to revisit all this from that barbell perspective).
And with the power of cutting ...
I think no matter what your plan, execution, or idea is, you only gain from cutting the expectation you have of the outcome - even if that outcome is certain.
But this might be my personal preference.
There's a lot more to cut, in this new year which can allow for you to - instead of 'making a new you' - discover the real you lurking within that may just need something cut away to see clearly.
I'll give you a solid reason to cut expectation here in a moment, because it's one of my favorites - but then I'll get into the classic "Via Negativa2" and walk you through a few prompts which can help you practically find things to cut to your immediate advantage.
Expectation and Happiness
Expectation is, in my personal observation and belief, one of the greatest friction points to happiness.
Think about even minor experiences.
The other day, my daughter and I drove through Sonic for a fun after-event treat. She got an experimental slushy, and we also grabbed a burger and cheesy fries.
When we got home, the cheesy fries were in fact ...
Cheesy tots.
She was ...
Sad.
Bemoaned.
Disappointed.
She didn't want tots she wanted fries!
And all I could think about was ... girl, if I had just handed you a basket of cheesy tots out of the blue you'd have been super pleased.
She did end up turning her perspective around and quite enjoyed the cheesy tots.
But, naturally I was struck by the negative experience with the fries/tots, but simultaneously by the lack of negative reaction she had to the experimental flavors slushy she got (where she had no expectation of it’s outcome).
And haven't we all experienced that. And seemingly justifiably been upset! I ordered the fries dammit! This is bullshit!
It reminds me of the 'ole poo flinging monkeys example.
Give a monkey a banana and he's super happy.
Give the monkey two bananas, and take one away ... and he'll start hurling poo at you in anger. Even though he ends up with the same number of bananas.
There's more in there than just expectation of course, but it strikes me that if it's our broken expectations driving negative emotions ... not having expectation means you can't have broken expectations.
Easier said than done.
We can make the examples all the more complex by looking at relationships.
I'm no relationship expert, and maybe this is just me and my own personal experience and my personal faults, but looking back in my experience of relationships and life all of the most negative experiences and problems come down to broken or mismatched expectations.
I thought you wanted children!
I thought you didn't eat meat!
You said you wanted to do this!
You said we could have a dog!
Blah blah blah. I don't need to expound in depth all manner of different ways in which expectation is broken - and you can surely argue the nuance of shared goals/interests fitting in there. But, just think through your own broken expectations and those of your current and past relationships.
Would you be happier if you cut those expectations?
Make no mistake, I'm not saying to remove any of the goals. I'm saying to allow yourself to cut the expectation that the end goal happens the way you think it will.
Cut the expectation of the story you've told yourself in advance.
And then repeat this idea ad nauseam through the rest of your life experience.
Got a goal in business? Cut the expectation that you'll reach that goal the way you think you'll reach that goal, even if you have definitive proof that you're going to reach that goal a certain way.
After all, cutting the expectation won't actually change how that goal comes about - but it WILL change how you feel and move forward through the path toward that goal, and how well you respond to and are receptive to adjustments along the way.
And in my opinion,
It will lead to greater happiness.
Via Negativa
This is ... call it a "tactic" ... we loop back on frequently, because it is so powerful, effective, useful, and I'd argue wise. Via Negativa.
Most of the time when we seek change we are looking to add more.
More money. More workouts. More dieting. More projects. More programs. More habits.
It's quite remarkable to think about "New Years Resolutions" through the lens of marketing and business's sophisticated interest in convincing you that you really need to get more, and they have the answer.
That might be pessimistic ... celebrations of "the new year" have been around longer than written history (and what marks that new year is different for different people - no need to get into that).
BUT
It is awfully convenient that we can say "it's a new year, time for a new you, and boy do I have a great deal on how you can buy that new you, only 50% off today!"
Why not,
"It's a new year, time to look back on the past year and cut everything you're still carrying which isn't doing a damn thing to help you get what you want."?
No money in that ;)
So I'm going to say it.
It's the new year. Instead of looking for new things to do, new things to add, new changes to make ... look at everything you already have and figure out what you could cut out.
(And then when you get used to this practice, consider making it a frequent one)
In order to help you navigate this process, we have some convenient prompts.
Those in TGA+, Guardians, frequent readers, you will recognize these prompts as ones we use for decision making moving forward.
Now we're going to consider these prompts with an eye to cut.
DALA
Don't Act Like an A-Hole or Directions of Acting Like an Adult3 (whichever you prefer)
The essence of this boils down to one question. Does what you say you're going to do align with the actions you take?
If you don't have alignment between your espoused values and your actions, we argue that you are not acting like an adult (to yourself).
Now,
In the context of cutting.
Put on your DALA Glasses and review.
What are your espoused values?
What do you say you're going to do?
What are your actions?
What are you actually doing?
And in the context of all that, WHAT CAN YOU CUT? which will bring your words and your actions into alignment?
The Rearview Mirror
The Rearview has two applications of cutting, in my perspective.
Taking the classic Rearview Mirror prompt exercise4, the idea is that if we're trying to solve a problem or do something, most of the time our perspective is to look out in front of us and try something new or to add something in order to solve that problem, do that thing, get the result, etc.
The Rearview prompt beckons us to look behind, see what we've done, and see if what we have already done which we know works can help us solve the problem. Instead of trying something new, we just exploit something we already know.
This prompt in itself is almost akin to an act of cutting, since it replaces "doing more" with "repeating what's been done."
But we can take it a step further and ask ourselves, "what can I cut in order to pave the way for repeating what's been done?"
But we can also use this look into the rearview mirror to ask ourselves "what can be cut that I can I cut that I have done which is no longer serving me?"
No matter how you approach this, looking back is a helpful exercise to avoid adding more in the first place, and from there you can remove all that which doesn't serve your next step and longer term goal.
Raise the Floor
Here's an interesting one.
Those of you familiar with Raise the Floor, I would wager haven't thought about it in these terms.
If you aren't familiar, check it out here:
In short, the basic concept of Raise the Floor is that instead of reaching for higher highs, you focus on improving your lows. Trying to increase your income? Don't beat your best month, just improve on your worst. You can read the above for why that's so powerful.
Now,
In the context of cutting ...
When you consider how you might Raise the Floor, most people are likely looking to add in order to do this.
But I want to challenge you,
To consider where you might Raise the Floor and then ask yourself, what can you remove which will result in or make it easier to raise that floor?
It's quite possible that your worst month is your worst month, because you have something else taking away from the goal that you are trying to achieve. And your easiest, most effective solution to raise that floor may just be removing that thing.
The Three Lists
Lastly,
I'll leave you with a different perspective on The Three Lists5.
You can find this idea written about here:
In short, The Three Lists are a way of managing your day to day, and keeping yourself moving forward with what matters by asking yourself each day "what did I actually do", and "what did I NOT do, but know how to do", and "what did I NOT do, and don't know how to do."
I find it's really easy to get into a patter with The Three Lists where stuff keeps getting added.
You know,
Cuz we're like human and stuff.
But what if each day you ask yourself ... what can I remove from this list?
Maybe there's a reason you haven't done a thing on that list. And maybe that thing is worth cutting.
Quitters Day
The subject of cutting is one we circle back on frequently here. In my view it's one of the most efficient and effective ways to get what you want now. Removing something in your way, or weighing you down, can produce a very high return for very little expenditure (and often that 'expenditure' is straight returning resources to you).
This is the essence of Resource Engineering6 - as many of you know it 'recapture and reallocate', where we remove expenses that are not serving us in order to recapture those resources and put them somewhere useful.
The idea of cutting is also connected with Letting Go7 - one of my personal favorite concepts (though I would argue they aren't the same thing, but I'm not getting into that now).
I wanted to leave this on one more idea,
Circling back to the new year.
As I am wrapping up and publishing this article, I have discovered that today (Friday Jan 10th) is apparently considered "Quitters Day." Our friend
actually emailed his list about this today and I find the coincidence to the day and this article amusing.Apparently most people quit their new years resolutions within the first 2 weeks, and thus the second Friday of the month has been given this name.
I have two things to say to that.
One is -- if you have made a promise to add more to your life and that action is not serving you or your goals, then you only stand to benefit by Cutting.
Secondly,
If instead of a New Years Resolution to do more, you choose a New Years Cut ...
Well,
You can't quit on what you've already given up.
So,
Clearly the best way to win the new year is by removing that which doesn't serve you 😁
There, I believe I have played the trump card on Quitters Day.
What are you gonna cut?
Be Useful. Be Present. Love the Journey.
Joseph Robertson, CMO The Guardian Academy
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Love the synchronicity in our posting today, Joseph. Today I shared the Zen concept of “Buji,” which can be translated many different ways, but my favorite is “nothing extra”— meaning to prune or cut away anything unnecessary.
When I read about the fries and tots I thought “oooo, moneys and bananas”…needless to say I happy to see that be the next point made 😅
Great article that connects a lot of dots. I’m gonna sit with it and come back because it gave me some ideas.