Let’s talk about how to make a better plan for your own in 2022. (Plan with Me for 2022! Let’s plan and set goals together.)
A new year begins.
Many students have asked my teacher, what advice do you have for individuals in 2022?
In his previous article courses, he analyzed economic development and business environment with us, but he rarely talked about personal topics.
Today, he shares some of his reflections with us. Some thoughts on personal strategy, personal cognition, etc.
In 2022, in an environment that is still full of changes, we must work hard to be more of ourselves.
After all, making yourself better is the key to everything. Let me share with you one of his stories.
Ⅰ
With your basic physical fitness, you can’t fight skills at all
In 2013, I went to ride around Qinghai Lake. 3300 meters. 6 days.
I have a strong feeling that my basic physical fitness is too poor.
Turns out, I thought I was pretty good at riding a bike. Because I rode from elementary school to college.
When I was in college, I rode my bike home from school and I didn’t even remember how I got back, I was so skilled. While riding the bike, I still think about things in my head.
However, when I got to Qinghai Lake, I found myself not at all.
At about 3,300 meters above sea level, I had altitude sickness, and after a while on the slope, it was very uncomfortable to ride.
How uncomfortable is it? I simply can’t complete my daily riding schedule.
I can only ask the car following us to take me to the finish line first, wait until the next day, then send me back 10 kilometers to the place where I got in the car yesterday, and continue chasing forward.
In order to catch up with the person who rides in front, I could only ride hard with my teeth gritted. But while riding, suddenly, my legs cramped and the pain was unbearable.
I just fell down on the hard ground.
This kind of thing should have happened more than once. I can’t remember exactly how I rode in a daze for 6 days. I guess it was my perseverance and the encouragement of others.
However, I clearly know that my basic physical fitness is too poor. Because others ride around Qinghai Lake, it is as easy as playing.
You take off the handlebars when you ride a bike, thinking you know a lot of tricks, but in front of a real professional, you really know nothing.
In 2015, I climbed the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro. When I got to the top of the mountain, I was not in tears, but in tears. It’s not easy.
However, the black brother who helped me carry the load along the way and accompany me to the top of the mountain watched calmly, with an incomprehensible look on his face.
This black brother, even his clothes and shoes are torn. But he just walked around like this, climbing Kilimanjaro more than 20 times a year.
This is the difference in basic stamina. I realized that with my basic level of physical fitness, it is impossible to fight skills at all.
So, back to the original question. In 2022, we must work hard to be more of ourselves. Improve your “basic physical fitness”. Otherwise, it may not make sense to talk about other things.
In this way, no matter how complicated the external environment is, you can do it with ease.
So, what to do?
Ⅱ
Think 10 times better strategies
Think first about the most important issue, strategy.
Regarding strategy, I once shared with you a simple and practical method: 531.
Look for five years, think for three years, and work hard for one year.
In the next 5 years, what chance will you miss and you will snap your thigh?
In the next 3 years, what kind of resources and capabilities will you accumulate to achieve your goals?
In the next year, what are you going to do?
5 years and 3 years are to keep you thinking about the times and being sensitive to changes.
But working hard for one year is the real difference. Turn ideas into reality.
So, in 2022, ask yourself, what is the “must-win”?
What is a must-win battle is what must be done, which is very important. It’s important to make yourself 10 times better. It could be a job, it could be an investment or something else, etc.
Many times, we get caught up in specific things and feel busy, but we are actually moving. Just picked up sesame seeds. But that watermelon was thrown away by us.
Some people may say that 10 times is too difficult. That 5 times, 3 times also works.
The point is to have a huge breakthrough, otherwise what is the strategy. Take your job, for example, look at the workflow, look at the value chain, which are redundant actions, and which links are more scarce. You optimize, you move. A small change can make you better.
Then, with the PDCA method, continuous action verification.
Plan (plan), Do (action), Check (check), Act (processing). It’s like a wheel that keeps rolling forward. With a clearer outline and picture, there will be no anxiety and confusion.
Ⅲ
Raise awareness
Of course, in order to make good strategic decisions, a relatively high level of cognition is required.
What exactly is cognition?
Simply speaking, it is the way of thinking about things, you can think farther and see more clearly.
This way of thinking is also what we often call a thinking model and a thinking framework.
Probably the easiest and most cost-effective way is to read more books. Every book is a set of models and frameworks.
Therefore, I strongly recommend that you read 50 books in the new year or 30 books. At least 20 books.
Categories of books, you can simply divide into two categories:
One is related to work and individuals: business, economics, management, growth…
One is related to vision, vision, and interests: history, art, biology, physics…
I would like to understand the reasons for this classification.
Of course, we need to be “down to earth” and read some books that seem more ” practical “, which will help our material life be improved.
However, we cannot ignore “Looking up at the stars”, some seemingly “useless” books can often give us greater inspiration.
Please remember: reading books is exercising our mental muscles.
Since it is to exercise muscles, every part must be trained. Otherwise, we might be called “too snobby”, or “space-hole”.
And when you find that you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid, let alone refuse. You have to embrace this unfamiliar knowledge.
Because, you start to light up the original dark map, and the cognition begins to be improved.
Then, you have more cognitive models and frameworks.
Ⅳ
Find the right tools
And when we’re learning, we need tools.
Gentlemen are not born to be different but good at making use of materials. Good tools can help us improve the efficiency of learning.
Yes, all tools are chosen to make our learning more effective and easier.
I’ll give you an example of my own.
I spent more than 1,000 hours on online lectures every year. Certainly not including the time I spent on writing the class (output). The speed of my lectures is 2x. That is, just from getting, getting 2000 hours of input per year. An average of 6 hours a day.
Many people ask, how do you do it when you are so busy?
For example, one day, I got up at 7:30 in the morning, turned on my phone, connected to the hotel’s Bluetooth speaker, and started listening. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I connected my Bluetooth headset, went downstairs to eat, and continued to listen. Then go out and listen to it on the way to the event site. The activity started at 9:00, and I listened to it for at least 1-1.5 hours.
The event ends at the airport 2 hours before the flight departure time. I listened to it for another 1.5-2 hours on the road. The content is downloaded in advance, 2 hours on the plane. 1 hour on the way home after landing.
So, I listened to it for 6-7 hours. Because of the 2x speed, I listened to 13-14 hours of content a day.
For these 1000 hours (2000 hours of content), I bought four Bluetooth devices.
A noise-canceling Bluetooth headset for listening on the plane. Because the plane is noisy.
A bone conduction Bluetooth headset for listening on the way. My work in Shanghai is more environmentally. I usually take a bus to work, ride a shared bicycle to get off work, land in Shanghai and take the subway to home. This way, you can’t use noise-canceling headphones, otherwise, you won’t be able to hear the car’s horn, which is more dangerous. So, use bone conduction headphones.
I also have a Bluetooth speaker in my luggage case. Some hotels have Bluetooth speakers, some don’t. If that, I just use my own Bluetooth speaker. Remove the headphones and use the speakers in the hotel room to relax your ears.
At home, I also have a waterproof Bluetooth speaker. Put it in the bathroom. Listen in the shower.
Someone asked, listen so much, remember it?
Do not worry. The purpose of listening is to “over the ear”. Once you find an interesting case on an existing knowledge framework, a unique point of view, a valuable piece of data, your attention is automatically focused. (At this time, you will find out how important it is to have your own cognitive system and thinking framework.)
Then, I would open a file on my phone called “Memo” and jot it down. This file is automatically synced to the Internet and to the computer desktops in my office and home studio. I can do further research and sorting as soon as I get a chance to sit down.
That’s the value of a tool.
You also find handy tools. It may be a pair of headphones, a keyboard, an e-book… In short, the nature of a gentleman is not different, and he is good at things.
Ⅴ
Meet 50 people
In addition to formulating your own development strategy and reading more books, you should also meet more people.
People are “alive”.
You will find that this is what he thought. That’s what she did.
Just stay at home and become an island in the sea.
Did you know that some companies even make it mandatory for employees to “meet by chance” when designing an office?
For example, the company has a small kitchen with refreshments and beverages that employees can pick up. However, there is only one narrow passage to enter and exit the kitchen.
That said, you’ll run into a lot of people on a regular basis.
Then what? Then, of course, have a short talk. How are your projects, what books are you reading recently, and what interesting things are you following? Creativity, imagination, sometimes that’s how it comes.
So, in 2022, you can also give the design a “meeting” method.
Go to meet 50 people.
Immerse yourself in a good information environment and in a place with high talent density.
Trust me, this will be a huge help in your growth.
Ⅵ
Learn a skill
Then, I also strongly recommend you to learn a skill.
This skill is not for “making money”, but for making yourself “happy”.
What’s the meaning?
In life and work, there is no doubt that we face enormous pressures.
Too much pressure, what should I do?
Some people choose to endure until they get sick. Some people will choose to vent until it gets out of hand.
Obviously, that’s not good.
Why don’t you want to find a way to make yourself “happy”?
For example, look at a beautiful painting, listen to a beautiful song, and dance a beautiful dance.
Did you know that each of us is a “slave” of our genes? In order to survive and reproduce, the gene will make you do what it wants, and then secrete some chemical elements that make you happy as a reward.
Just like eating sweets, you will be happy, but not necessarily good for your health.
The strength of human beings is that they actually find a special way to make themselves happy. Like a hacker, hacked into the genetic system.
I mean, when you’re stressed and hard, maybe you can paint, sing, dance, play the piano, take pictures, as long as you can get a breather and be happy, in addition to overeating and sleeping.
If you have this skill, this hobby, you will become more complete. Dealing with uncertain life will also be more confident.
Ⅶ
Exercise physical and mental strength
Earlier we made a lot of “software” suggestions, and finally, we talked about “hardware”. Your mind and body.
Physical and mental strength is really important.
When you get sick, you lie down, your strategy, your cognition, and the people you meet lose their meaning in an instant.
Physical strength, in my opinion, is mainly training cardiopulmonary function.
The strength of cardiopulmonary function is equivalent to the size of the battery capacity. A battery with a capacity of 5000mAh is almost certainly more durable than a battery with a capacity of 800mAh. Similarly, the better the cardiorespiratory fitness, the easier it is to manage the day’s work.
To train your cardio, you can run. If you don’t have enough time, you can get off the bus one stop earlier and walk home.
Still too busy? You can also choose a more efficient way: skipping rope.
Jumping rope for 5 minutes is equivalent to jogging for half an hour. And with the correct posture, the knee injury from the jumping rope is only one-seventh of that of running.
Mental strength, in my opinion, is mainly about training the inner recovery ability.
Weakness, we all have this experience. Almost crushed. At this time, it is particularly important to be able to recover quickly and resurrect with full blood.
One method of training is meditation.
Meditation is becoming more and more popular. An important reason is that scientific research has shown that meditation reduces neurological and hormonal markers associated with stress responses.
That said, meditation as a form of relaxation and rest can help us better de-stress. After a stressful job, sometimes it only takes 10-15 minutes of meditation to recover quickly.
How to do it?
You can find a comfortable position, straighten your back, and then close your eyes and breathe slowly and evenly. Then, focus all your attention on your breath. If you find yourself distracted, bring your attention back and continue to focus on your breathing. Then, when the time is up, let the alarm gently wake you up.
There are also many introductions and tutorials online that you can check out.
The body is the capital of the revolution. With strong physical and mental strength, you can be more confident in making yourself better.
In conclusion
So, here’s his advice for you in 2022: Strive to be more of yourself.
Let yourself have better “basic physical fitness” and try to move the starting line a little bit forward than others.
Think about your own strategy, read more books, meet more people, study more, exercise more.
These things seem very small, very common, and very simple. But it is these small, ordinary, and simple things that open the gap between people.
In 2022, do your best to be yourself.
Be sure to make yourself better.
Be our customers/partners, Let’s be a better version of ourselves!
