acasestudyofaria

[acasestudyofaria]

✅ 32/52 recap + reflect

i don’t have much to say about this week because i spent more time doing than thinking about things and my working memory is a tad bit deficient BUT here’s one thing i took away from week 32:

embrace imperfection and difficulty in doing new things - you finding it difficult is not a sign to back away, it’s proof you’re trying

as a child, things came very easily to me, esp when i was interested in it, so i relied on what i would call beginner’s luck to get me through a lot of things growing up. i feel like i breezed through the majority of my life unaware of how to actually do certain things (like studying, and i can’t tell if that’s a blessing or a curse). now that i’m trying to be more aware and present in what i do, the reality hit me like a sack of bricks. i can find things difficult. my natural response was to resist facing the difficulty and run away from my responsibilities, which set me back a thousand steps.

this week, i pushed myself to do more difficult things (that ideal me would do), esp when i really didn’t feel like doing them.

my findings: difficult things became less difficult the more i attempted to do them, or at least, i was less resistant to doing them.

things that helped me “not think, just do”:

🍄 say bismillah - this is literally a cheat code. you’re unstoppable with the creator of the heavens and the Earth on your side. all He has to do is say be, and it is. ok bismillah, letsgooo!

🍄 set a timer - switching my study goals from content-oriented tasks to time-oriented ones helped me build momentum too. i didn’t always manage to finish studying the content i wanted to, but by the end of the day, i had finished at least half of it instead of only having thought about doing it.

🍄 visualise doing the thing - i screened mini “spoiler alert” reels in my head, showing myself how in 30mins, i would’ve completed a certain task. the resistance to it dramatically decreased because the “future footage” made me see the task for what it actually was: something i could definitely do and NOT a threat to my well-being.

🍄 set intentions and systems around your goals - i started the week off telling myself i would finish one biochem topic a day. it didn’t work and i kept berating myself for it. two days ago, i told myself i would commit to increasing my biochemistry knowledge base a little every day. i switched my goals to timeblocks instead of topics and that system increased my productivity. even when i wasn’t able to complete an entire topic, i had taken steps towards improving my knowledge base, AND achieved my goal of x study timeblocks.

🍄 give yourself a “gold star” once you complete a task - for me, posting my todaystodos updates on my story and seeing the green ticks (or the absence thereof) gave me just enough dopamine to push myself more the next day. but i also rewarded myself w cake, or talking to my brother, or today, watching an episode of Strange Planet. find something that works for you and DO NOT pre-reward (it doesn’t work as effectively).

🍄 be your loudest cheerleader too - we’re usually our worst critics, and that’s okay (as long as we stay constructive) but we have to cheer ourselves on too. how would you talk to a friend or a sibling? my brother rerouted a lot of my negative thoughts this week, and once i started talking to myself the same way, it changed how i approached the things i needed to do - again, it dramatically decreased the resistance.

🍄 treat yourself w compassion even if you fail to meet your own expectations - because we will sometimes. and that’s okay. we do better next time. cultivate a growth mindset. there are no failures in this garden, just unsuccessful experiments that leave more soil for new flowers to be planted. and it shows you what not to do with the next attempt. it’s trial and error until it works out, loves.

happy monday! <><3