Friday Question & Framework: August 11, 2023

Hello and welcome to the Curiosity Chronicle Friday edition. In three minutes or less, I will give you one question and one framework to leave you thinking heading into the weekend. Without further ado, let's dive right in. Question on Information versus Action Do I actually need more information or do I simply need to act on the information I already have? This question comes from James Clear, the best selling author of Atomic Habits and more importantly, an incredibly thoughtful and genuine human. We live in the golden age of information. The best information is all freely accessible at the touch of a button. Think about it. With a single Google search or hey Siri requests, you can get immediate access to just about anything. But all of that information has a downside. It can become a silent excuse for inaction. We use information gathering as a means of delaying action because we're doing something. It feels like movement, but it's just procrastination in disguise. Information threatens to turn us into a rocking horse, always moving, never going anywhere. We need to find a balance between information and action. When in doubt, it's safe to assume the balance is found with more action. As writer Derek Sivers once quipped, if more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs. A Framework for Identity and Actions the Identity Action Grid In Atomic Habits, James Clear often talks about the power of identity for driving actions. If you create and believe in an identity, your actions and behaviors will fall in line. My friend and executive coach Eric Partaker developed a simple exercise that can help us establish our core identity and connected actions across each of the important arenas of life. I like to call it the Identity Action Grid. For each arena on the left column, which includes work, physical health, mental health, and relationships, write down the identity. Who is the main character that you want to embody in this arena? Values what are the two to three words that would describe or guide the actions and behaviors of that main character? For example, if the main character were Super Dad, I might say the values are present Spontaneous and loving Goals what is the specific goal of that main character within the next three to six months? Avoid the goals being too far out into the future. Keep them short. Quarterly or even monthly and daily Number ones what single action can this main character do today and every single day that will get them closer to that goal? I have found the Identity Action Grid to be an incredibly useful tool. It takes five to 10 minutes to complete but has a lasting impact, particularly if you keep it on your desk or in view. Try it and let me know what you think. That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you learned something. And I hope it got you thinking. As always. Until next time, stay curious, friends.