James Clear

My top 10 tweets of the year A thread 👇

Guilt lives in the past. Worry lives in the future. Peace lives in the present.

This idea is from today's edition of my 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter. Each one features⁠ 3 short ideas from me, 2 quotes from others⁠, and 1 question for you to ponder⁠. You can see more of today's newsletter (and sign up to get it in your inbox) at jamesclear.com/3-2-1

I recently found this note to myself: No sense in thinking small. Don't water down your vision. A remarkable amount can be accomplished if you are willing to think longer term than most and work hard each day.

Ideas that are hoarded help no one. Success follows generosity.

Train hard and focus on what you can control.

A Monday morning question for you: If you want a plant to grow, you can fuss over it every day—watering, weeding, moving it toward the sun. Or you can place it in the right soil and let nature do most of the work. A seed planted in the right spot often thrives on its own. Life is much the same. Progress is not only about how hard you work, but also about where you decide to work. Where is your energy better spent right now: pushing harder or planting yourself in better ground?

Your life will not magically exceed your standards. Improve your boundaries and life improves too.

This idea is from today's edition of my 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter. Each one features⁠ 3 short ideas from me, 2 quotes from others⁠, and 1 question for you to ponder⁠. You can see more of today's newsletter (and sign up to get it in your inbox) at jamesclear.com/3-2-1

The best view of the game is probably from the stands. But that's not where the action is. And so you have to decide, do you want a nice view or do you want to be in the thick of it and playing the game?

In the gym, if you experience no stimulus your muscles won't grow. If you step under 10,000 pounds your body will break. Life is similar. Too much challenge makes life hard, but so does too little.

A Monday morning question for you: If your body could vote on your daily schedule, what would it immediately veto?

You can go to hell without moving an inch, just focus on what you lack. You can taste heaven without leaving earth, just rejoice in what you have.

This idea is from today's edition of my 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter. Each one features⁠ 3 short ideas from me, 2 quotes from others⁠, and 1 question for you to ponder⁠. You can see more of today's newsletter (and sign up to get it in your inbox) at jamesclear.com/3-2-1

Three ways to think about relationships: -Deepening. You know each other better this year than last. -Holding. Steady state, but mostly comfortable, familiar, and unchanged. -Drifting. Contact is fading and the relationship is starting to slide. The point isn't to judge where you're at, but to notice what you need next. Which relationship is due for a deepening period? Which one are you okay letting drift for now?

Life rarely changes in a positive way without an increase in responsibility. That can mean taking ownership of your health or committing to a relationship or starting a business. Whatever it is, if you want the trajectory to change, the amount of responsibility usually has to change.

A Monday morning question for you: What are you doing today that will benefit you in a decade?

People can help you in many ways throughout life, but there are two things nobody can give you: curiosity and drive. They must be self-supplied. If you are not interested and curious, all the information in the world can be at your fingertips, but it will be relatively useless. If you are not motivated and driven, whatever connections or opportunities are available to you will be rendered inert. Now, you won't feel curious and driven about every area of life, and that's fine. But it really pays to find something that lights you up. This is one of the primary quests of life: to find the thing that ignites your curiosity and drive. There are many recipes for success. There is no single way to win. But nearly all recipes include two ingredients: curiosity and drive.

This idea is from today's edition of my 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter. Each one features⁠ 3 short ideas from me, 2 quotes from others⁠, and 1 question for you to ponder⁠. You can see more of today's newsletter (and sign up to get it in your inbox) at jamesclear.com/3-2-1

You can take things seriously without taking them personally. Our tendency is to turn any criticism or complaint into a personal attack. We reply to it, defend against it, build a counter-argument, lose sleep over it. You don't have to eat everything that is served to you. You can respond to criticism without digesting criticism. Take what's useful, do your best to improve, and leave the rest.

At any moment, you are one good choice away from a meaningfully better life.