Hack Your Life - Compound it

We all have been taught compound interest in school. And we make sure to benefit from it when we put our money in fixed deposits and savings.

But compounding exists in a lot more aspects of our lives - both good and bad. If we notice it and act on it well - we can gain a lot & save a lot of time, energy and frustration. In fact anything worthwhile that’s ever been done has needed compounding.

These are very generic observations which we all are aware of - the idea is to look at it as an “opportunity” to invest at the right time.

Trying to form a good habit

?Forming any new “good” habit is pretty hard - and more so initially. Cause it requires change. And change requires momentum.

You can’t have momentum without speed/velocity - which means you need to keep moving - even if very little initially. The hack here is “very” little. As long as you are moving, you can trust physics.

The very little compounds over time. Another hack to remember here is that “something is better than nothing”. So 3 days a week is better than 0 days. 1 pushup a day is way better than 0 pushups.

1 pushup a day will not remain 1 pushup (will increase naturally after a time because of boredom and lack of any element of "challenge") if you consistently do it every single day for months.

A 10 min jog regularly is infinitely better than no jog at all.

It sounds like I am talking about taking baby steps - which in a way I am - but the idea is to be aware of the compounding that’s involved - it’s way easier to comprehend the “why” behind baby steps.

The same holds true for trying to break a bad habit. Bad habits take time to develop too - but they may take an eternity to get out of our system. The negative momentum is just too high in many cases. 

The first and safest hack is to not get into the trap of known bad habits. Compounding acts there too and being cautious of such compounding is ideal. The next best thing is to be aware of the “zone” which leads to the point of no return - and step back - even if a little bit at a time. Again, trust physics. 

Some specific areas/examples where compounding is prominent:

Weight loss/getting fitter/running/nutrition

One very good example of compounding in action is when you want to lose weight and you run/jog as well. In the initial and intermediate stages, since the better you run and eat, the faster you lose weight - this weight loss makes your running smoother and faster - which results in quicker weight loss and the cycle can continue to compound. The trick here is to not bother about the “entire” weight loss at the start - rather it is to just focus on entering the “positive zone” of compounding, which could take just a few days. The sad reality with most people is that they don’t look at it this way of just entering the rhythmic zone - rather their mind is always overwhelmed by the bigger ultimate goal.

Whenever I am beginning to train for a certain running event, coming back from a casual regimen, I use the 3-run-days rule: I run regularly and eat clean for 3 consecutive days(eat a lighter dinner, no fried food, less sugary stuff). The 4th & 5th day - I am almost entering the compounding zone and then habit/rhythm takes over. The hack is to just focus on 3 days of avoiding “pleasure” and bringing in discipline. Only 3 days.

Relationships

When we meet someone initially, and show care and affection, usually the other person responds well and that makes us respond and behave even better - which in turn - if handled well can get into the compounding zone - which can lead to great relationships. The beauty of the compounding zone in relationships - you start to believe more in positive relationships and that they can form at any age.

This helps in forming more qualitative relationships.

Personal & Professional growth

Working for an early stage startup/challenging role - When you work for a high energy startup (even when the salary is not great) or a role which is demanding, you learn at an astonishing pace compared to what you have learned while working for a regular “safer” job. As you learn more, the pace of learning increases too since your capacity to pick up things increases. When you look back one year post working sincerely in an early stage startup - you would observe that you have not only acquired phenomenal professional skills but also solid personal ones. The ability to handle chaos, rejection, keeping up a “can-do” and positive attitude start to show up in other areas of your life too. Not all such jobs end up in the startup getting acquired and you becoming rich - but the transformation stays with you - which sooner or later will benefit you.

To be honest, there are no "real" hacks or shortcuts in life. You will need to put in the required effort. But then life need not be unnecessarily complicated and tough either. Being aware of and investing our efforts smartly really simplifies things.