The Wisdom of our Children

Note: This blog post is an excerpt from our weekly newsletter.

“Why is a person on a bicycle faster than someone on foot?”, “What is marriage?”

These are actual riddles by the world’s most genius riddle-maker….my 4yr old daughter. If you are reading this, I sincerely hope you didn’t find any of those questions “easy” to answer…

The Wise One

Ever picture wise sages as men with white long beards sitting on the hilltops of the misty mountains? Even if my Asian heritage is to blame for this visualisation, I doubt you ever thought of the newer members of our community as being the wiser ones…

Today in 5 minutes or less:

• The Goal-setting Trap
• Pablo Picasso
• The Recipe for Creativity

The Goal-setting Trap

As we near the end of 2024, hear me out on a pitfall I see many people falling into as they plan their life and business goals for the upcoming year.

Stop using “anti-words” in your goals. Don’t set goals like:

• Quit smoking
• No More doom-scrolling socials
• Don’t binge-watch Netflix
• …etc. You get the gist.

Instead, get straight to what you will accomplish:

• Healthy lungs
• Spend more time for self-care in the evenings
• Friday Netflix episode party
• …etc. And make it sound cool / creative too.

Our brain struggles with anti-words. They simply only register the word behind them (so “smoking“ in the first goal). And there is actually a way you can see this brain struggle in action…

Pablo Picasso

This guy Picasso is more known for his art, but I have reason to believe he was quite wise too. He said:

“Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”.

This artwork is Pablo Picasso’s “Violin and Grapes” (1912).

Not just for art, or creativity, or even how to have fun. I think there is so much we can learn from our kids.

Tell a child “not to run“. Then, watch the resistance and power struggles they go through as they try to rid their mind of the urge to “run, run, run“.

Tell the same child to walk or skip. They will act as if running was never an option…with ease.

Newsflash adults; we are all wired in the same way - adults just have a stronger “will“ to force ourselves despite the mental struggles.

This is the reason why you should not use “anti-words” in your goals. They just add unnecessary mental struggle that make accomplishing goals a test of the will, rather than a destination to calibrate your journey to.

The Recipe for Creativity

During my startup days, there were periods of time where I felt “stuck“. Those were precisely the times where I also felt like I couldn’t afford to just stop doing work.

Guess who gave me the conviction to create a dedicated weekly “do nothing“ time?

Well, the idea itself came from the coach I was working with back then, but the conviction that this is the best thing to do for me came from……you guessed it; my kids.

Seeing them roll around the floor in boredom, that gradually turned into a game of pretending to be fish in the sea? That’s nothing short of inspiring.

And as we get another week closer to 2025…

I now have 1 spot left for my 3-month offer. It’s a weekly 90-min 1:1 coaching call to remove your mental blocks, then work towards achieving goals you wouldn’t have thought possible in 3 months.

My current ongoing clients updated their goals and are moving towards them in amazing leaps such as:

• Client A goals:
• BEFORE: In 90-days, I want to feel lighter & better about my self. Take more time for self-care
• AFTER: In 90-days, I am launching a new product in time to boost sales for the gifting season. (She already has a running biz)

Hit reply to make this transformation yours. I can help expedite your time-to-action…with ease.

What did you think of this week’s newsletter?

How would you answer my toddler’s riddles?

Hit reply and let me know! I’m curious.

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- Nori