If You Could Change Only One Thing about Your Day, What Would That Be?

Hi, welcome to ZhuoModels, where we navigate through uncertainty and chaos together, starting with curated mental models from my years of collection (it's currently 250 models with weekly updates). This is the 3rd Episode and I hope that helps in a way. Meanwhile. please feel free to check out the previous episodes and SUBSCRIBE for regular delivery every week.

Here's Why

Dear all,

Happy new year and how is your day? Any changes taking place besides no newsletter from ZhuoModel last week(I was off for vacation and I promise to make it up)? Did you have a good sleep or bad dream last night? What's the first thought before getting up off the bed? Is there anything that inspires you today (I mean, so inspiring that you can't stop extending your ideas around that)? Is there any moment you would like to express your gratitude, either to someone or some experience that happens to / around you? If you've already got easy answers to those questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I'll let you know how those help. If not, lay down your worries and kindly spare me a minute looking at this image that gain wide and increasing popularity around my social network.

What's your thought on that? Mine is nothing more than a bowl of chicken soup. However, with a second thought and deeper look, this is not a description on what life is, nor is it a comfort on how life can be, but an action guide that may create impact beyond our expectation or even imagination. Let's dive into that by asking the question shown in the title:

What is the ONE THING that you COULD change about your day?

Yes, COULD, not Would or Want. Please do not be frustrated if there are so many things / changes out of our control, as that's not my question. Please do not be disappointed either if there's quite a few changes that we CAN make in a day, as what we need is ONE or at least what we need is to start with THE ONE.

If you've got an idea, try asking yourself the second question: is this the change you would like to keep for a hundred days? If yes, a big big congrats; if no, just keep looking, although there does not seem to be many choices left.

For me, I decide to put a Pattern into my everyday life for an entire year. The Pattern consists of three key elements that forms a routine--one to start a day in the morning, one to energize a day after lunch, and one to close a day before going to bed. The elements may vary in person, contexts, state of minds, and the content may be flexible as most of it is based on what happens and what's taken, but the routine remains. Here's how it looks in the past week

Here's how it is supposed to look in a month (depicted from another personal project)

You may think that I'm emphasizing the power of a new habit (which is old school by the way), but I'm not. What I'm trying to create is a NEW PATTERN (along with other existing ones). A habit usually focuses on actions and process while a PATTERN owns the actions, processes and outcomes, with which all taken into account, an iterated version come up, every day. Here's how it looks within my Evolution Map

The map mirrors my personal evolution journey and is made up of Patterns (those bigger dots) with actions and processes around (those smaller ones). The links between those Patterns show how impact of each pattern has created and interacts with one another, while the tags of each pattern/action/process/outcome indicate how those impact can be brought together to create greater new ones. The following shows how every element tagged with Leadership from different Pattern interlink with each other, based on which I could create something new and interesting.

Pattern is the very thing that could not only visualize but fulfill the impact of our desired life; pattern is the very thing that we could rely on to trigger a change that works every day. It is the beginning of the beginning and that's why I believe many would need it although not many have been aware of it.

Now, please take a look at this picture again with a lens of Pattern, and feel free to share anything new or different this time (if there's any) in the comment section.

What is the Model

A pattern may have different forms. To simply this, I would describe it as a Cube for daily scenario, just like the one we put in the black coffee and that starts to make all the difference.

There are another reason for me to see it as a Cube, since every cube has at least 3 dimensions and 6 facades, which encourages us to explore and bring elements of multiple aspects. In order not to fall into the trap of over-complication, I would tend to build my cube with three dimensions--Questions out of Curiosity, Inspiration of Encounter, and Moment of Gratitude, as is shown below.

Everyone can surely build the daily cube with version of his/her own, and the point is the three elements shall come from different aspects so that they could interact with each other to make our day. Hence, it could be a cube of life, work and study, or thinking, learning and working, or family, friends and strangers, or human, animals and AI, etc.

What I would suggest, however, shall be the three key ingredients of your desired life. I wish to still have strong curiosity even at age of 65, as we all know that our expertise and experience reveal only 0000.1% of the world but we naturally rely them to explain 80% of the things that is happening / has happened / will happen. I wish I could still be amazed and inspired every day so as to extend, create and build something around that little spark, which may one day make a difference that comes as a surprise. I wish I don't miss any potential for a good thing to happen not only to me but around me and beyond me as well, and that's why keeping a note of gratitude would help. As times go by, those moments are less about me/us (a beautiful sunrise, or an amazing dance in the street, or simply a laughter in the room that cheers everyone up), but keep a grateful heart and mind would broaden the chances for me to capture them and that could change something or even everything.

When it comes to How

1. As always, be completely honest with ourselves. We are not doing this to show and tell (although show-and-tell could trigger more feedback and inspirations), but to grow a new US.
2. Do not just note it with a headline; write something about it; adding some pictures or mini-podcasts below every note would also help, especially when it comes to boredom.
3. Instead of making it a diary, I strongly suggest putting every piece on the whiteboard or canvas (try figma or miro or notion, or just doodle). It is not calendars but observing and exploring the links between those elements that amazes us and makes all the difference.
4. Pay attention to the changes of the pattern as time goes by, and notice those changes you can control. Keep doing and keep iterating.
5. You may refer to others' for inspirations if you are doing it in groups but do not be influenced by them.
6. Last but not the least, good luck with your new year and good day with your new cube.

I'll see you in next letter. Feel free to subscribe, share, comment or like and that means a lot to me.