Some time has passed since New Year's Eve—that gruesome day on which we made promises and goals only to forget about them the following month. At least, this is what some statistics conclude.
I am interested in making the most of my goals and plans and want to share a framework with you. As usual, this is a tool that can be used. Any tool can either help or hinder you. If the tool doesn't help you, discover a new one while you take the lessons learned from the experience. In the past, I presented rules that pivoted from motivation to discipline. This is a continuation, assuming some positive experience happened already with the rules.
I need an attitude?
So, going past the dictionary definition, we will consider mind framing as having a specific attitude towards specific areas of our life. And today, we will start with only three frames:
- Growth mindset - Your attitude that growth occurs through small, incremental steps rather than significant overnight victories.
- Pablo Picasso: "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
- Metacognition - Your attitude is that you often need to reflect on your thinking.
- Buddha - "What we think, we become."
- Self-Authorship - Your attitude is that you need to define and express your authority and rely on your internal voice to make decisions daily.
- Steve Jobs - Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
Embarking on the Growth Quest: A Winner's Mindset
Let's say you've always felt you're terrible at cooking. With a growth mindset, you decide to give it a real shot. You start experimenting with simple recipes, learn from the inevitable burnt pans and salty soups, and maybe even take a cooking class. Each mishap falls into your foundation. Over time, you notice improvement—not just in your dishes but in your confidence to tackle new culinary challenges.
A Growth Mindset is the belief that one can develop abilities and intelligence through dedication, effort, and learning. It's about seeing challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles. Instead of thinking, "I'm just not good at this," you start thinking, "I can get better at this with practice." It's a shift from a fixed perspective to embracing growth and potential.
Thoughts on Thoughts: The Metacognitive Quest
Suppose you're preparing for a big presentation, but you keep procrastinating. Instead of forcing yourself to work, you pause to consider why you're avoiding it. You realize you're anxious about public speaking and fear making mistakes. Recognizing this thought pattern, you decide to address the root cause by practicing in front of a friend or focusing on deep breathing techniques. By thinking about your thinking, you've found a more thoughtful way to tackle the problem, leading to better results and less stress.
Metacognition is simply thinking about your thinking. It's like stepping back to observe how you process information, make decisions, or solve problems. By becoming aware of your thought patterns, you can adjust them to learn and grow more effectively.
By applying metacognition, you turn off autopilot and take control of your learning journey. It's a powerful tool for personal growth and navigating life's quests.
Penning Your Path: The Quest of Self-Authorship
Consider you've always been told that a stable job is the key to happiness. You find yourself in a secure but unfulfilling career. Embracing self-authorship means stepping back to question this narrative. You might realize that creativity and adventure are what truly drives you. So, you decide to start that business you've been dreaming about or travel the world while freelancing. You're authoring your path by redefining success on your terms.
Self-authorship is about becoming the writer of your own life story. Instead of following a script written by others—society, family, or friends—you take the pen and decide your beliefs, values, and directions. It's recognizing that while life hands you the paper, you choose what gets written.
A framework: CAPO
I've been using this for some time. It's not yet perfect, but I think it's more than just a draft. The word has no accents, so each part is equally important. Sometimes, people tend to focus on one and miss the benefits. Let's not do that here.
Commitment
Ensure you are committing time to improve on a goal. Ensure it's flexible and you can adapt it to your lifestyle. We don't care about having all the details or all the stages of the plan. We acknowledge that we are working on an outcome—one that is in the right direction.
✅ I will write an essay every two weeks.
✅ I will run three kilometers each day.
✅ I will add a journal entry each day.
❌ I will write an essay about mind framing each Saturday morning and send it with my newsletter.
❌ I will run three kilometers each morning at a moderate pace in Lincoln Park.
❌ I will journal daily about my life, career, and friends after meditating.
Action
One action is enough to act as a domino piece. One action is enough to get help from inertia. Doing no action is the only way to fail.
✅ I wrote only 'It sucks' in the journal. That is progress.
✅ I wrote a 200-word paragraph. Great, keep it up!
✅ I walked two kilometers. That counts, too!
❌ I complained that the weather was terrible.
❌ I couldn't start writing because I was hungry.
❌ I didn't have my journal with me.
Present
Find a format that works for what you learned. Present the increment to others to see how they react. The only way to understand if an idea is good is to share it with others; an idea that stays only in your head will never be good.
✅ A Linkedin blogpost.
✅ A short podcast episode.
✅ A lightning talk at a conference.
❌ A reply on social media.
❌ A nudge in a private conversation with no follow-up.
❌ Not sharing at all, believing the progress is "not ready."
Outcome
Ensure a clear outcome where you will use the output and learnings from the commitment. It must have a clear deadline.
✅ Participate in the half-marathon in February. Shine that medal along with the previous years' ones.
✅ Write a book complete of essays on how to live better. Have a draft to share with the publisher by December.
✅ Present a new way to journal and meditate at the Coaching in Leadership & Healthcare Conference next year.
❌ Be healthy.
❌ Become mindful and calm.
❌ Become better at writing.
And a tool: CAPO tracker
Building from the previous Eudaimonia Templates, here is an adapted tracker.
Good luck, and see you next time! If you enjoy it, feel free to share it with friends and enemies alike!
