Weekly Snapshot: Clarity, Bad Habits & Choices

Hi friends!

Clarity is a blessing.

Whenever I start my week with a thoughtful plan and daily to-do list, I'm more productive, and I make progress - there's more action and less motion. It also applies to life.

Whenever I've had clarity of goals, I've excelled and never been distracted. I may not know how to achieve that particular goal, but since I've defined my end result, finding a path toward it becomes easy.

I might feel hopeless when things are not working out, but that means there's a need for further clarity. It's a signal for self-reflection and making amendments to my strategy.

Without clarity, operating and living are highly inefficient. I get that sometimes going with the flow is the best strategy, but it's reactive and leads to unhappiness. There's always something missing.

Clarity is the unsung hero of our lives.
Without it, we're lost. With it, we're unstoppable.

💪 Wins of the week

1. I stayed focused in the face of distractions. It was hard to make that choice but I knew it was the right choice to make.
2. I'm having fun doing the difficult things. Everything in my life is a new challenge. It's great to know that I'm learning and growing.
3. I published my article and YouTube video (watch the video at the end of this newsletter)

🧐 Challenges & Learnings

1. I feel that I still try to juggle multiple things. I know that I'm more focused than ever but sometimes I feel unhappy and anxious when I'm unable to make progress on a particular life goal - it's definitely about clarity and control. The solution, I believe, is cutting down.
2. I'm finding it hard to cut down on my smoking habits. It's somehow crept back into my life. I'm finding ways to eradicate it completely but I know it's going to take some time. Here's a silver lining though: now I know to never let bad habits creep back into my life - not even once or not even by accident.
3. I felt a bit slow this week. I lacked energy and did a lot of procrastinating. I don't know the root cause but I need to be more active and need to push myself to take action!

🎯 Goals for Next Week

Next week is all about increasing income and networking:

1. Connect with 5 entrepreneurs in the real estate investing industry for advice and a constructive conversation.
2. Squish the bugs over at work. Technical debt is difficult to resolve, so fixing it one bug at a time.
3. Figure out an extra income stream that can bring in an extra $3,000 every month.
4. Publish 1 article and 1 YouTube video.
5. Eat healthy: fruits, veggies, and grilled chicken.
6. Gym: 5 days.

📖 My Readings

I'm currently reading Influence by Robert B Cialdini. Here are the first two takeaways from the book.

1. Reciprocity is your foot in the door. If you want something from someone, do something first and then ask for a favor.
2. If you can make people like you by finding similarities, you can influence them.

Here are a few other articles that I had fun reading:

1. Private Debt Firms Roil Asset-Based Loans as Liquidity Heroes (Bloomberg)
2. Consumers have spent all of their excess savings from the pandemic. That's just one reason why stocks are poised to fall, JPMorgan says (Yahoo Finance)

🎬 My Latest Video

How I got an 8.5 band in IELTS in just two weeks: Are you preparing or planning to take IELTS? In this video, I share the strategy I employed to score an 8.5 band - it's fun, engaging, and helps you keep improving your English language skills even after the exam ends.

✍️ Quote of the Week

“Too many options make a tyrant of us all.”

Till next time.

Raheel Ahmad