“Something new” could be an opportunity offered to you, a new project idea, a new habit etc.
1️⃣ Would you?
Before anything, what is this “something new”?
- Deciding before you understand what it entails is a bad idea. You need more info so you won’t regret/be surprised later when it’s too late.
- You may even find a determining factor that helps you decide immediately.
- Make informed decisions, not a bet.
Pro: Why do you want to do it?
- Name the selfless reasons - how will doing this benefit others?
- Name the selfish reasons - how will doing this benefit you?
Con: If this doesn’t work out, what’s the worst thing that could happen?
- Maybe the downsides aren’t as bad as you think.
If it’ll be a marathon, are you ready for the painfully slow part of the exponential curve?
- Most content creation journeys take about two years to bear fruit.
- You’ve got to be ready to be consistent even if the desired result comes slowly.
- For more: When the result isn’t showing
If money isn’t involved, will you still do it?
- Monetizing is awesome, but having it as your primary goal may turn you off when you don’t see the result immediately.
- Try focusing on how to make it fun and sustainable. Doing so keeps you going and lets money be the byproduct of this marathon.
If your goal is to get rich, however, then starting a blog is not the approach to take. You’re much better off working a steady, well-paying job and investing your money the boring, proven way.—Thomas Frank, How to Start A Successful Blog
2️⃣ Could you?
Can you afford to do it?
On your calendar, time-block the slots for:
- Existing obligations (making Notion templates, publishing a newsletter/week, attending classes, working on assignments etc.)
- Personal time (socializing, entertainment, fitness etc.)
Now, can you still afford to add a new project?
- Is there something you can sacrifice?
What will this prevent you from doing?
Making a choice means sacrificing another.
What better things could you do otherwise?
Have you finished what you started?
- Finishing has different meanings:
- Achieving the targets of a short-term project.
- Concluding a project even if not all the targets are achieved.
- Having strong consistency for a long-term project
- Starting a newsletter when you’re still struggling with publishing 1 video/week is similar to building two habits at a time. It’s two times harder.
3️⃣ If you’re still uncertain
Remember Schrodinger’s cat.
- In an enclosed steel chamber, we have
- a cat
- a small flask of hydrocyanic acid (poison)
- a Geiger counter (a device that detects radiation)
- a tiny bit of radioactive substance (may or may not decay in the next hour)
- Within the next hour,
- if the radioactive substance decays, radiation is detected, and the flask of poison will be broken to release its content, thus killing the cat.
- if the radioactive substance doesn’t decay, the cat is still alive.
- But, we don’t know if the decay will happen within this time period.
- Hence,
- The similar applies to making decisions.
To find out if the cat is dead or alive, open up the chamber and observe directly.
To find out if a choice is better or worse than the other, pick one and see for it yourself.
Time is running out.
The longer you delay, the less options you will have.
Hell yeah or no?
If you feel anything less than “hell yeah!” about something, say no. —Derek Sivers
Assuming the alternative is better after you made the choice is a bad idea.
I think people overthink decisions. There’s no time machine, there’s no future machine – you’ll never know what the alternative would have been. So just pick one and do it! —Gary Vaynerchuck
Whatever choice you make, you get to experience and learn.
Greedy people get nothing in the end.
