Book Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

 Life is going to leave us behind if we keep thinking the way we do, acting the way we have and living like we did even a decade ago... 

Don't like it? Well neither did I until I started reading: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. At 30 Years old, and as Yuval explains, we start to become more stuck in our ways. We begin to form permanent ways of thinking and ideas about the world. I have always said, as I get older, its seems more difficult to grasp some of the adventures I tackled in the past. I can feel that happening in my life. 

If this is in anyway you, give this a read, we need to start exploring how to live as the future presents itself at our front door. 

An incredible book by Yuval Noah Harari, best book I have read in a about two years. 

Click HERE to see what other books I have read this hear. 

Yuval presents some of the oldest arguments to humankind. What will ware be about and how can be position ourselves to see objectively. Terrorism may take the form of technology in a way we have never seen! How do we recognize fake news? 

We have the opportunity to slow down and think about what the future holds. The jobs that existed 10 years ago do not exist today and the jobs that are going to exist in 10 years time haven't even been thought of. This book presents some crucial strategies to thinking about how we can position ourselves to succeed when these daunting challenges come. 

Instead of being frozen by fear, stuck in thinking and acting the ways we always have, we can take steps to recognize how we need to adapt. 

"You think you already know who you are. But once you realize "Hi, these thoughts aren't me. They are just some biochemical vibrations! Then you realize you have no idea - who - or - what - you are. This can be the start of the most exciting journey of discovery any human can undertake." Yuval Noah Harari 

Give this book a read! check this video if you are not convinced: "Why Data is so important" 

Why you will probably fail this year, again...

Theres 100 smarties in a jar, 92 will kill you, 8 won't, would you take one? If you dont any your chances in this scenario, why would you, when it comes to New Years Resolutions. 

8% of all New Years Resolutions come through, succeed and are seen to the end. What makes you feel yours will succeed? The chances are they wont, again, and let me tell you why. 

Your habits have been created over years if not decades. The things we do are so ingrained in who we are and by focusing on more than one thing to change at a time, its extremely difficult to get it right. Not because of your weak will power but because you still need to look after the kids, cook food, go to work, deal with all sorts of other issues and on top of that, you want to change your life. New you. In stressful environments we revert back to what we know. 

So, what do we do: 

1) Set 1 goal for this year: Set a goal that will change a habit forever, rather than setting extrinsic goals that often are left out of your control at a certain stage. For example, I want to loose 5kgs this year, rather say. "Instead of eating until I am full, I want to eat until I am 80% full for the entire year." What I like about this is that it is easy to see when you have failed at this, and getting back on track the next meal is easy. But the game of 5kgs is so up and down every single minute of every day. More so it can lead to completely disordered eating habits. 

2) Change the environment: If you are going to try drink coffees in a bar, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you are going to "not drink" with a fridge full of beers for guests, you are setting yourself up for failure. Triggered moments lead to a habitual way of reacting to things. for example, I get stressed out, I walk to the fridge, I grab a cupcake, I eat it, before I know what I have really done its to late. Whats the problem? The freaking cupcake in the fridge, if there was none there and you need to drive to the shop, its an opportunity to think about the decision. Set your environment up for failure. 

3) Get support around you: Your partner needs to know where you stand. Peer pressure is the major killer of resolutions, nobody wants to go down alone. If you can successfully overeat on foods that are making you feel terrible and leading to weight gain, along on the coach every night while your partner is eating an apple looking great with full energy each day, chances are you may change some habits. The problem comes in, when a partner can seemingly eat whatever they want and not gain weight. The other partner then also justifies why they can eat whatever they want to. In the end we need to take responsibility for our actions and sharing wit our partner what our "habit" changes are for the year. They are more than welcome to indulge in what they want, its their journey, but to "offer you" to join them is not okay, they need to know they are disrespecting you. Would a wife offer her alcoholic husband a beer after 3 years of not drinking? We should see everything like this. " The more support you have around you, the easier it will be. 

Good luck, write down 1 goal that is a non negotiable for this year! And stick to that. Because 92% of your resolutions will fail! You are not immune to statistics that have been looked at for years, so be clever about your planning!