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3-2-1: On making the most of shortcuts, how to reduce worry, and the kindness of mastery

Happy 3-2-1 Thursday!

Here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week...

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3 Ideas From Me

I.

"Shortcuts tend to accelerate effort, not replace it. Supplements and cutting edge recovery methods might speed up your progress in the gym, but they don't replace the need to do the workout. In general, the people who benefit most from shortcuts are those who continue to practice the fundamentals consistently."

​II.

"Stress and worry tend to be higher before you act.

Without action, all you can do is worry.

Once you begin, fear shrinks as you start to influence the outcome."

III.

"To improve, compare little things.

• marketing strategies
• exercise technique
• writing tactics

To be miserable, compare big things.

• career path
• marriage
• net worth

Comparison is the thief of joy when applied broadly, but the teacher of skills when applied narrowly."

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2 Quotes From Others

I.

Journalist and novelist Carl Hiaasen on setting a high standard:

"Always aspire to act in a way that cancels out someone else's cruel or stupid behavior."

Source: Assume the Worst ​​

​II.

Investor Rick Buhrman on the kindness of mastering your craft:

INTERVIEWER: What is the kindest thing that anyone's ever done for you?
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BUHRMAN: ... our oldest son, Theo, who just turned seven, spent the first six months of his life in several NICUs. He was eventually helicoptered to Indianapolis at Riley Hospital for Children. And while we were living in that NICU for almost a half a year we saw a lot of kids who passed away. Most of those kids were not as sick as Theo was.

I don’t know exactly why Theo survived, but I know that a major part of how he survived was because for several decades leading up to that moment, numerous nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, doctors, surgeons had committed themselves wholeheartedly to mastering their craft. I can give you tons and tons of examples of these people. And I know that in the moment, it wasn’t necessarily viewed as kindness.

But maybe in some sense, the kindest thing that all of us can do is to pursue something radically that in some way is in service to others, because you just don't know how it's going to change the trajectory of human life. And so for all of those medical practitioners, none of whom I'm sure are listening to this, I owe everything to, because they gave me the gift of being Theo's dad.

Source: Invest Like the Best

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1 Question For You

I'm usually asleep from 5am to 6am, but when I wake up early I tend to enjoy it. Start the day slow. Watch the sunrise. Get a few things done before everyone else wakes up.

Meanwhile, I am often awake from 10pm to 11pm and I find that I tend to use the time poorly. Passively watching TV or scrolling on a screen. Late night snacking. Overthinking things that are unimportant.

Trading the last hour of the night for the first hour in the morning would be a pretty high value trade for me.

Which hours of your day tend to return the most value and which ones tend to return the least?

Want to share this issue of 3-2-1? Just copy and paste this link: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/may-29-2025

Until next week,

James Clear ​​
​Author of Atomic Habits​
Cofounder of Authors Equity​

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p.s. Focus on the positive. ​​

What else am I working on?