Dr. Aziz presents a self-improvement exercise called "From Avoidance to Approach," a game to build confidence by converting avoided tasks into daily actions. Viewers are instructed to list everything they're avoiding (tasks, conversations, habits, social risks), do one item per day until the list is done (and then make a new list), schedule or add preparatory steps for future items, and preferentially tackle the items they least want to do first. The practice is framed as systematically increasing discomfort tolerance to unlock meaningful life goals; the video closes with a call-to-action to share progress in the comments.
Questions this video answers
From Avoidance to Approach
Do one thing on that list per day until the list is done.
Pick the stuff that you least want to do on that list first.
Chapters
Do you want to play a quick game with me today that can radically transform your confidence and then therefore your life? Well, let me share the game. You can decide if you want to play it or not. The basic premise of the game is to flip all of your avoidances into approaches. The game is called From Avoidance to Approach. What does that mean? Well, you make a list of all the things you're avoiding right now. All of them, just flush it out. Doesn't have to be just in social confidence or dating or career or other places you might be avoiding social interactions or taking risks. Those are some of the places. But it could be anything. You know, you got something on your to do list? I got a to do list on my desk right now. Just stuff on there. You know, which of the ones that you've been that's been on the list for like six weeks. You just keep kicking it down the road to the next week. Oh yeah, I didn't get to it this week. I don't know why. Maybe next week. That's an avoidance. The phone call that you haven't made, the person you haven't gotten back to, the conversation you know you need to have with that person or with someone else in your life. Physical routines, habits, exercise workouts, commitments you want to uphold, figuring something out, learning how to solve that problem, ordering that item to change your filter, whatever it is, make that list of all the things that you've been avoiding, postponing, procrastinating, dodging. And this could also include social, you know, experiments, social risks, putting yourself out there, speaking up more on work. All that stuff. You're going to make that big list and it's going to have anything and everything that comes to your mind. You probably only, I mean, you could get a solid list in like three minutes or less. And then what do you do? You do one thing on that list per day until the list is done. And then what do you do? Then you make another list. Now some of the things on your list, maybe they're like a year out or, you know, because you got to train for them, you got to prepare for them, or it involves something that you can't do tomorrow. Well, great. When you get done with everything that you can do, then you're going to make a new list. Now if there's something that's like X far out, then do you have a date for it? Pick a date for it. Is there prep or training or something you'd be doing for that now? Then make sure those things that are prepping for that Further out thing are on your list now, right? So there's no excuses here. There's no trying to skirt around it. And that's what we spend most of our lives doing, is trying to skirt around the discomfort. Like, oh, I'm just gonna go here and maybe that maybe I could do this instead of that and then get through the day with less discomfor, you know, and who are we tricking? Who are you pulling one over on? You're just cheating yourself. You are not getting stronger. You're not building the muscles of confidence, of determination, of resilience, of courage that only comes from taking everything on your avoidance list, especially the things that you really want to avoid and checking them off one by one. And when it gets to doing them, you know, it's like, okay, I got that thing. I'm gonna do that thing. Oh, how do you know what to. I'd say pick the stuff that you least want to do on that list first. It's completely changing your orientation towards discomfort. I talk about this in my book not nice. Discomfort tolerance is one of the most powerful muscles or skills that you can build that will unlock everything in your life because everything that you want is outside of your comfort zone. That means by definition, everything that's meaningful, whether it's love, a relationship, having kids, raising those kids, creating something that's meaningful in work, doing work that you love, growing a business, making more money, connecting, creating extraordinary relationship, putting yourself out there, speaking up, becoming a more powerful at persuasion or selling or growing a business, whatever, all of that stuff, that's all outside of your comfort zone. That means it's going to be uncomfortable, it's going to be discomfort. So how do we gain control of this? How do we gain strength? We attack that discomfort and we do so systematically in this manner via a game. So if you're interested in playing the game, share down below in the comments. You ready to play? You ready to do this? What are you going to do? What's some of some things on your list? And I look forward to hearing about you and your growth and your journey until we speak again. May have the courage to be who you are and to know on a deep level that you're awesome.
