From the advent videos I made in the run up to Christmas 2016. First published December 2016.
Experiment
"Every choice we make in life is an experiment" (Charles Duhigg, Smarter Faster Better)
The next thing you need to understand is that everything in life is an experiment. Nobody ever knows the results. No one ever knows for certain how something is going to turn out.
We think we know, but we don't really, do we? Think about it. Do you really know how anything is going to be today? No. You know how you expect it to be. You know what you believe it's going to turn out like. You don't actually know.
And here's the other thing. If it doesn't turn out the way you wanted, does that matter? No, because you learned something from it. If you learned, it's not a failure. Anything you learn from is not a failure.
So I'm experimenting here. I don't actually know what's behind me. I've just come out of a lift and I have no idea. I'm trusting my cameraman to tell me before I hit a wall. In fact, he's kindly turned around so he's walking backwards. This is an experiment. This isn't planned, this isn't scripted. I don't even know what I'm going to say next. But I do know this: I'm doing it.
Remember the other day, when I talked about taking action? Well, this is taking action. This is what taking action looks like. Sometimes when you take action, you don't know what the result is going to be. That's okay. And if the result isn't what you wanted, that's okay too. Just put it down as research. Treat it as an experiment and celebrate your life.
The book: Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg.
Try something today without knowing how it'll turn out, and treat the result as research.
