Create experiments, not laws

For the longest time, if I wanted to make a change in my life, I would set these arbitrary rules for myself. I’d create laws I had to obey.

When I’d eventually break those laws, I’d feel a sense of disappointment, sometimes even shame. Failures would be very discouraging, and it was all too easy to quit.

But if I'm running an experiment on myself, I'm simply a scientist gathering data.

Failures are no longer failures, they become valuable pieces of information. I can note what worked, what didn't work, and then set up and run a new experiment.

• Laws are rigid, experiments are iterative.
• Laws get broken, experiments get tested.
• Laws yield constraints, experiments yield learnings.
• Laws require enforcement, experiments require hypothesis.
• Laws confine, experiments contribute.

Experiments have a basis in curiosity, they encourage you to try crazy, creative new avenues just to learn. They help you let go of assumptions and expectations, and bring you back to the real world.