Practicality

Sometimes, advice on how to live a better life isn’t very practical.

Imagine I said to someone, “Lifting weights will make you stronger.” They would probably call me an idiot for pointing out the obvious. They already know this, and a statement so broad doesn’t help them.

But if I said, “I will make you a workout program. I will walk you through each exercise, teach you the proper form, and ensure you’re training hard enough. I will even craft a nutrition plan, so you’re well energized for your workouts.” Instead of calling me an idiot, they would probably ask how much I charge. After all, the personal training industry generated over 30 billion globally in 2024.

So why would I be called an idiot in one scenario and get paid for my advice in the other? I spoke the truth in both of them, right?

The main differentiator here is specificity. And specificity leads to practicality.

Although what I said in the first scenario isn’t necessarily wrong, it doesn’t give the recipient much to work with. It’s true, but not practical nor actionable.

In the second scenario, I offered a comprehensive plan based on the fact that lifting weights will make you stronger. Instead of “lift weights,” I made it “lift x amount of weight doing these exercises for x number of sets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at noon.”

Much better, right?

I often find myself thinking, Wow, that’s good advice. Then, I proceed to do absolutely nothing with it.

The specific, actionable, and targeted ideas are what really sticks with me. In other words, the more practical the advice, the more it sticks.

Here is one important one from author Mel Gibson called the five second rule:

When making decisions throughout the day, it can be easy to talk yourself out of the harder choice.

You decide to mow the lawn, but you convince yourself that it isn’t sunny enough. You’ll do it next week when the weather clears up.

You decide to send that email you’ve been putting off, but you don’t want to worry about it right now. You’ll wait until Friday when you’re in a better mood.

Hundreds of these moments happen every day, whether we know about them or not.

When these moments pop up, count down from 5. When you get to 0, start doing the thing. Get up and get the lawnmower. Grab your laptop and start typing.

Whatever it is, get up and start doing it before you have time to make excuses.

As simple as it sounds, there is a phycological trigger that happens when we count down. And when that countdown hits 0, it doesn’t leave room for excuses or changing your mind.

This is a technique I want to focus on moving forward, especially considering how practical it is.

I urge you to give the five second rule a try this week. As soon as something enters your mind that you need to do or something you’ve been putting off, start counting down.

A bit of a longer post this week, but I think this idea of practicality deserves it.

If you want to learn more about the five second rule, consider reading Mel Gibsons book of the same name or checking out her many videos covering it.

Keep making progress. Change for the better. Live the Heming-way.

Til next time,

Trevor