Why I keep the garbage underneath the sink

Sunday morning, I read that “life is just today, over and over and over again.” 

The message: The mundane is your actual life. 

That’s why when it comes to achieving a goal, focusing on the factors within your control (ie, effort) instead of results actually opens up your mind to less mundane experiences. 

Think about it: Sustained effort is hard because it tends to become tedious and tiresome. But when you reflect on the contextual factors impacting your effort, it can help make things less mundane.   

Context involves culture and your heritage, which are both deeply embedded in you. The customs, beliefs, and standards that take shape as ancestral patterns can randomly “show their face” in your day-to-day efforts. (I keep the garbage under the sink because, in my family culture, that’s what we do.) 

Then there’s the mix of generations that create our society. Your age and gender matter. As do your economic and education levels. And all of that is evolving constantly because we’re all moving through different life stages.

To focus on effective (important, impactful) context factors involved in your effort, list the contextual reasons why you can and can’t get yourself to do something, right now. This helps prioritize efficiency and capacity. Create two lists: the most and least effective (important, impactful). Perhaps, do a focus map method. Then choose one as an actionable, daily effort. 

Focus mapping example. For more, see BJFogg.com and TinyHabits.com.

Here’s another impactful quote I read the other day from a guy named Richard Feynman, who was a theoretical physicist: “Never fool yourself, and remember that you are the easiest person to fool.” 

Awareness of day-to-day context can help you minimize foolish, unsustainable choices.