Constraints are Liberating

Rules free you from entertaining distractions. They keep you in your lane. You always know what to do. You may not like what the rules are telling you, but at least you have the peace of mind of knowing what you have to do to succeed.

Given the abundance and unhealthy amount of information flying around, without rules, you’re more likely to check out other things that take you away from doing what needs to be done. Before you know it, all you do is gather and gather and gather (often useless) information.

I don’t know how people wing it at the gym. I don’t know how they go to the grocery store without a list. Or how they invest without a plan. I understand why people choose this approach (because they don’t want to be bound by rules or feel constrained), but the opposite often happens.

Without rules, people often become buried under a pile of confusion and stagnation. They never get anywhere. I think deep down we know this is true, but writing down a plan just feels like too much work. It feels boring. It feels like there’s no room for modification or fun. It feels like we’re back in school or back when we were kids with our parents telling us what to do.

In my experience, rules liberate.

Master the ABC’s. Memorize your times tables. Clean protein, fruits and veggies a few times per day. Resistance train 3-4x per week. Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Walk 7-10k steps per day. Risk no more than you can afford to lose. Go with the trend. Ride winners and cut losers.

These rules free me from thinking and having to remember every little thing. I don’t need to search out the popular hack of the day or silly things like that.

I know my system. I love my system. When I do it everyday, I can think about other things. I have the energy I’ll need when my wife needs my emotional support. When my friend wants my take on their career or something. Or when tragedy strikes.

Burning energy on creating a new system every month is lunacy. It doesn’t produce anything but stress and wasted effort.

Get some rules. Get free. Get some sleep and go.

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