#006 – The Region-Beta Paradox & How to Overcome Procrastination

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read time 2 minutes 

#006 at a Glance:

• Quote that will get you thinking: The Traits of The Most Successful People

• Podcast you should listen to: Joe Rogan x Chris Williamson

• Hack you should try: The Key to Overcoming Procrastination

• Framework: The Spotlight Effect

• Tweet I liked: Optimising Work Hours

Quote that will get you thinking:

Podcast you should listen to:

The Joe Rogan Experience #1851 – Chris Williamson

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode that has stuck with me is a phenomenon Chris spoke about called the Region Beta Paradox.

It’s the idea that sometimes, worse situations can actually be better for us than better situations.

Read that again.

Now, think about this example:

Let’s say you’re at a job. You don’t really like it that much but the pay’s okay. You hate your boss but your co-workers are alright to be around. The work you do is pretty boring but you don’t usually have to stay back too late.

In an ideal world, you would leave that job and pursue something that is more aligned with who you are and who you want to be. So why don’t you leave?

The answer (according to the Region Beta Paradox) is that your situation isn’t bad enough to motivate you to take action. You would actually be better off if your situation was worse because only then would you get alarm bells ringing saying “this isn’t for me”. Only then would you propel yourself to take action.

But instead, the acceptance of our ‘not-so-bad’ circumstances comes at the cost of pursuing things that are not truly in line with who we really are.

This is one of those podcasts that you’ll wish never ends. So much value, so much insight, and so worth your time.

Listen on Spotify here.

Hack you should try:

The Key to Overcoming Procrastination

It’s no secret that procrastination is one of the biggest killers of progress. It consumes our thoughts, creating a cloud of inactivity and laziness in the process which prevents us from doing the things that we know we should be doing.

So, how do we overcome it?

As usual, Andrew Huberman has got the answer:

One thing we also can’t forget is that, at the end of the day, procrastination is a luxury.

There are many people in the world who at this very moment while you read this email, are in a far more stressful and precarious position than you. They simply cannot afford the luxury of procrastination.

Whether it’s finding clean food and water or escaping war-torn regions, the things on their to-do-list could quite literally be the difference between life and death for themselves and their family.

Having put things into perspective, is having to do that task or send that email or make that phone call really something worth procrastinating?

Framework:

The Spotlight Effect

The psychological phenomenon where we overestimate the degree to which other people are noticing our actions, behaviours, appearance, or results.

I think everyone can relate to this one. When you’re in public and you think that all eyes are on you, examining you, judging you.

Whereas in reality… they’re not.

Tweet I liked:

To see a visual representation of what this quote looks like in practice, have a look at this.

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!

Grateful for your support.

Stay hungry, stay humble, & stay curious. ⚡

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