That was the lesson of step 28 in Tai Lopez’ 67 Steps program, which I took way back in 2014. In that particular lesson, Tai talked about John Wooden, Lao Tzu, and the power of foresight. The idea was simple: The worst time to buy health insurance is when you’re already in the hospital. Wherever you can prevent big problems by taking small precautions now, you should make the effort.
Health is indeed a good example. Working out a little every day, stretching, walking, brushing your teeth—it’s the little habits maintained over a lifetime that give you the best odds at making it to 90 and beyond. But, yesterday, this idea popped back into my head in a different context.
It was dinner time, and all I’d had thus far…
That was the lesson of step 28 in Tai Lopez’ 67 Steps program, which I took way back in 2014. In that particular lesson, Tai talked about John Wooden, Lao Tzu, and the power of foresight. The idea was simple: The worst time to buy health insurance is when you’re already in the hospital. Wherever you can prevent big problems by taking small precautions now, you should make the effort.
Health is indeed a good example. Working out a little every day, stretching, walking, brushing your teeth—it’s the little habits maintained over a lifetime that give you the best odds at making it to 90 and beyond. But, yesterday, this idea popped back into my head in a different context.
It was dinner time, and all I’d had thus far was an espresso, a cappuccino, and a pretzel. I was ready for some yogurt and cereal, as my partner and I had discussed, but since she’d had a bigger lunch at work, she gracefully offered me half of a scrumptious chicken burger, which we still had left over from the day before. Once I started eating, I asked her if she also wanted some, but she declined.
Super happy with my unexpected burger dinner, I barely managed to pace myself. I didn’t quite wolf it down, but man, I was hungry. Before I knew it, I held the last piece in my hand. “I really should offer this to her again,” I thought, “so she can at least have a bite.” Guess what? It was hard! I did feel some friction before asking my fiancée whether she’d like the last piece. Crazy, right? How entitled we can feel to something that was gifted to us as a complete surprise only moments ago.
Alas, I’ve done harder things, and I was very happy when she took the last bit of the burger and also got to enjoy it. So, all in all, it was easy enough to share delicious food even whilst I was hungry—yesterday. If it was another day? Who knows. That’s when the saying resurfaced in my head: Do what is hard when it is easy.
Be kind when it feels easy. Start the big project when it feels easy. Do the chore when it feels easy. That moment, that mindset, that psychological state of affairs might not come back any time soon, and your karma bank needs all the currency it can get. Prepare, prevent, and anticipate, sure, but also leverage your moods to carry you to the big aspirations: Do what is hard when it feels easy.
Nik
Niklas Göke writes for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. A self-taught writer with more than a decade of experience, Nik has published over 2,000 articles. His work has attracted tens of millions of readers and been featured in places like Business Insider, CNBC, Lifehacker, and many others. Nik has self-published 2 books thus far, most recently 2-Minute Pep Talks. Outside of his day job and daily blog, Nik loves reading, video games, and pizza, which he eats plenty a slice of in Munich, Germany, where he resides.