By Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Finished: 1/6/26
Summary
More overall - don’t set linear goals, focus on exploring and letting curiosity thrive and guide you, make “tiny experiments” from:
- observations about your own life, feelings, thoughts, etc
- hypotheses about what might help you
- pact to try something that will test the hypothesis
- review / iterate / reflect on the results
I inevitably find these types of books long winded but I appreciate this one. I like the idea of basing your goals on completing what you set out to do, not necessarily the outcome. Just because it’s better to focus on what you can control. Going with the flow and following curiosity also things I’m into so I’m for that. Inspired me so far to take better “field notes”, so if nothing else, I think that’s a win.
Notes
Reframe goals from being outcome based to process based - controlling what you can control type of idea - ex: gain a zillion YouTube subscribers bs publish a new video every week for a year. Avoiding “linear” objective / goals and focus exploring and letting curiosity thrive and guide you.
Avoiding “scripts” that are engrained:
- following past or discovering path?
- following the crowd or discovering tribe?
- following passion or discovering curiosity?
Take “field notes”:
- evaluate your state, energy, etc throughout the day
- don’t reflect at the end of the day, important to take notes throughout to capture state
- some ideas of things to track: insights, energy, mood, encounters
Eventually - reviewing field notes gives you ideas of what you want more of, less of etc - formulate questions from there, and hypothesize about what might help.
Example:
- Usually dreading presentations -> how could I get more comfortable with public speaking?
- Hypothesis: maybe improv class would help
Turn the hypothesis into a pact:
- I will try improv classes for X time.
Pacts aren’t habits, they aren’t outcome based (need to be based on a showing up), and they have well defined duration.
Continue with field notes, see how it goes, update, repeat.
On procrastination:
- don’t look at it like it’s the enemy, what can it tell you?
- three things to check on the thing you’re procrastinating on:
- Head: is it appropriate to be doing?
- Heart: is it exciting?
- Hand: is it possible?
Perfectionism
- can’t do everything to super high standards, need to choose where to spend time and be ok with other areas being less than perfect, don’t see them as failures but conscience choice because you put your time elsewhere.
- Check that your targets are realistic in the context of everything you’re trying to do
- progress over perfection
Reacting - looping / iteration
- need to reflect to react and adjust
- Weekly (or periodic) plus/minus/next is one tool to do it
- List out cols with:
- What went well?
- What didn’t go well?
- What’s next?
- Next doesn’t have to be solutions for what didn’t go well, but can be
When pacts are done - decide to:
- persist
- pause
- pivot
Be mindful of external factors (list them if possible) vs internal factors for any decision - pro/con style approach can be biased by emotion etc:
- external - did circumstances change? other commitments, etc
- internal - emotions, not excited by pact, etc
Conclusion - principles / summary
- forget the finish line - follow curiosity
- unlearn scripts
- turn doubt into action - make pacts, do them to see results
- let go of chronometer - focus on the quality of moments, manage energy, executive function, and emotions instead of minutes
- procrastination is a signal that can give useful information
- no perfectionism
- growth loops - meta cognition, pay attention to your own thoughts and emotions - iterate based on how things are going
- decision frame: not just increase or decrease, can “persist” - pivot, persist, pause
- go with the flow / disruption - explore subjective response first, feel the emotions etc - and then explore objective changes / consequences that you need to actually maybe respond to
- find others into the same things / communities
- share your work/ progress