Comments on: The Power of Less: Changing Behavior with Leo Babauta http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/ Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:32:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: gregory http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/comment-page-1/#comment-63843 gregory Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:57:08 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/?p=1053#comment-63843 it is amazing how far a simple plan can go, before i couldnt get any work done throughout the day and just having my task written down and try to follow on task through as you suggest has been a game breaker for me...thanks for the info and i know there is a lot of people gaining from your posts. it is amazing how far a simple plan can go, before i couldnt get any work done throughout the day and just having my task written down and try to follow on task through as you suggest has been a game breaker for me…thanks for the info and i know there is a lot of people gaining from your posts.

]]> By: 50 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/comment-page-1/#comment-63101 50 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:43:35 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/?p=1053#comment-63101 Now, will this work for the entire 6.8 billion people on the planet, or just some of them? If the latter, how can we know if we are individually part of that fraction? Motivation can't come from external sources - at all. And you can't create new motivation "stuff" beyond what you already possess. You can't read a book, then go and change your life. If you apply "new" motivation (which is simply life energy) in one area, you must rob that from some other area. You can't create "more" energy. Here's my alternative plan. Just live your life exactly as you're doing now, allowing for the normal variations. That's your life. It's not going to be materially different tomorrow, next month, next year or ever. If you're a slob, you're a slob. If you're lazy, you're lazy. If you're greedy, you're greedy. If you're ambitious, you're ambitious. If you're not these things, you're not. You're basically stuck with yourself. As is. As always was. Only your external circumstances change. If what Leo claims is true, he has achieved his improvements in his situation as a result of changing some previously limiting circumstances - not by going against his internal makeup every day. I wonder when he arrived in Guam, or his present living arrangements? If he was getting benefits by going against his internal makeup and living artificially, a bill for that would certainly come due, either each day, or cumulatively some time in the future. If you want to be happy (and I guess that's the goal of all this), first learn to accept yourself, and then try to optimize your circumstances (e.g. don't work in a pizza joint or a bakery or a bar, live near a park or other such open space, work close to home, dump friends who have worse internal makeup than you, don't own a television, or a cell phone, or car, etc.) Getting rid of your TV and your car should be enough to "make" more rapid and beneficial changes in your life than you could ever believe possible. You'll be the same person, only your circumstance will have changed. No? Too much? Okay, get back to decluttering that drawer. And good luck with that. Now, will this work for the entire 6.8 billion people on the planet, or just some of them? If the latter, how can we know if we are individually part of that fraction?

Motivation can’t come from external sources – at all. And you can’t create new motivation “stuff” beyond what you already possess. You can’t read a book, then go and change your life. If you apply “new” motivation (which is simply life energy) in one area, you must rob that from some other area. You can’t create “more” energy.

Here’s my alternative plan.

Just live your life exactly as you’re doing now, allowing for the normal variations. That’s your life. It’s not going to be materially different tomorrow, next month, next year or ever. If you’re a slob, you’re a slob. If you’re lazy, you’re lazy. If you’re greedy, you’re greedy. If you’re ambitious, you’re ambitious.

If you’re not these things, you’re not.

You’re basically stuck with yourself. As is. As always was. Only your external circumstances change.

If what Leo claims is true, he has achieved his improvements in his situation as a result of changing some previously limiting circumstances – not by going against his internal makeup every day. I wonder when he arrived in Guam, or his present living arrangements?

If he was getting benefits by going against his internal makeup and living artificially, a bill for that would certainly come due, either each day, or cumulatively some time in the future.

If you want to be happy (and I guess that’s the goal of all this), first learn to accept yourself, and then try to optimize your circumstances (e.g. don’t work in a pizza joint or a bakery or a bar, live near a park or other such open space, work close to home, dump friends who have worse internal makeup than you, don’t own a television, or a cell phone, or car, etc.)

Getting rid of your TV and your car should be enough to “make” more rapid and beneficial changes in your life than you could ever believe possible. You’ll be the same person, only your circumstance will have changed.

No? Too much? Okay, get back to decluttering that drawer. And good luck with that.

]]> By: Ark http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/comment-page-1/#comment-62738 Ark Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:21:30 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/?p=1053#comment-62738 Thanks for putting us onto this really great info from Leo. It's a year later that I'm discovering it and it seems to me it could probably be relevant for many decades to come. I'll be getting a copy of the book today and will begin to implement the one habit per month rule. I'll be back to let you know how it goes. God Bless. Thanks for putting us onto this really great info from Leo.
It’s a year later that I’m discovering it and it seems to me it could probably be relevant for many decades to come. I’ll be getting a copy of the book today and will begin to implement the one habit per month rule. I’ll be back to let you know how it goes. God Bless.

]]> By: Otsin lugusid. Kas sa saadaksid mulle ühe? « Maailm on sinu auster! (Peep Pullerits) http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/comment-page-1/#comment-57553 Otsin lugusid. Kas sa saadaksid mulle ühe? « Maailm on sinu auster! (Peep Pullerits) Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:52:16 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/?p=1053#comment-57553 [...] Tim Ferrisse postitus, kus ta tutvustab ühte teist blogijat, algab väga huvitava lausega: [...] [...] Tim Ferrisse postitus, kus ta tutvustab ühte teist blogijat, algab väga huvitava lausega: [...]

]]> By: Oleg Mokhov http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/comment-page-1/#comment-54532 Oleg Mokhov Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:24:26 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/?p=1053#comment-54532 Hey Leo & Tim, Better to accomplish a small goal than plan but fail to accomplish a bunch of big goals. If you focus on getting a small change done for 5 minutes a day, after a bit you would have made progress. But make a bigger plan--one that is daunting to you--and you risk not doing it. What's great with bite-sized progress is that by doing something small routinely, you turn it into a habit. It becomes like brushing your teeth: you don't think about it anymore, and it'd be weird NOT to do it. After establishing this foundation, you can build up your progress from there. 5 minutes becomes 10, 1 task becomes 2, and so on. Before you know it, you're making positive changes in your life, and it's easy to do because they're a habit, rather than this big daunting plan that you don't feel like forcing yourself to do. Thank you two for writing your awesome books. Inspires us to be effective, not just productive, Oleg Hey Leo & Tim,

Better to accomplish a small goal than plan but fail to accomplish a bunch of big goals.

If you focus on getting a small change done for 5 minutes a day, after a bit you would have made progress. But make a bigger plan–one that is daunting to you–and you risk not doing it.

What’s great with bite-sized progress is that by doing something small routinely, you turn it into a habit. It becomes like brushing your teeth: you don’t think about it anymore, and it’d be weird NOT to do it. After establishing this foundation, you can build up your progress from there. 5 minutes becomes 10, 1 task becomes 2, and so on.

Before you know it, you’re making positive changes in your life, and it’s easy to do because they’re a habit, rather than this big daunting plan that you don’t feel like forcing yourself to do.

Thank you two for writing your awesome books. Inspires us to be effective, not just productive,
Oleg

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