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3-2-1: How to get

motivated and learn
faster, and the power of
attention
sent by JAMES CLEAR JUNE 17, 2021

3 IDEAS FROM ME

I.

“Motivation often comes after starting, not before.

Action produces momentum.”

(Share this on Twitter)​

​II.

“Almost anything in life can be learned faster.

Most people learn passively. They wait for insights to come to

them.

But you can speed things up by actively searching for useful ideas.

One strategy is to ask the top people what they do. Make their
best practices your baseline.”

III.

“We spend a lot of time talking about everything we have to do.

You have to finish 10 things at work. You have to exercise today.

You have to cook dinner for your family.

Now, change one word in each sentence. You don’t “have” to. You
“get” to.

You get to finish 10 things at work. You get to exercise today.

You get to cook dinner for your family.
The right perspective transforms your burdens into
opportunities.”

2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS

I.

Philosopher José Ortega y Gasset on the power of attention:

“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you
are.”

Source: Man and Crisis​

​II.

Marine biologist Rachel Carson shares her reflections on life after

watching the migration of monarch butterflies:

“We talked a little about their migration, their life history. Did
they return? We thought not; for most, at least, this was the
closing journey of their lives.

But it occurred to me this afternoon, remembering, that it had

been a happy spectacle, that we had felt no sadness when we
spoke of the fact that there would be no return. And rightly—for
when any living thing has come to the end of its life cycle we
accept that end as natural.

For the Monarch, that cycle is measured in a known span of

months. For ourselves, the measure is something else, the span of
which we cannot know. But the thought is the same: when that
intangible cycle has run its course it is a natural and not unhappy
thing that a life comes to an end.”

Source: Letters of Note: Volume 2

1 QUESTION FOR YOU

What is the limiting factor?

Until next week,

James Clear

Author of the multi-million-copy bestseller, Atomic Habits​

Creator of the Habit Journal​​

p.s. The guy who invented the clock.