James Clear · May 16, 2024

3-2-1: When to be patient, why we procrastinate, and the importance of early attempts

Glance

James Clear's 3-2-1 newsletter offers three ideas on patience, focus, and early attempts, two quotes on taking action, and one question about making goals easier.

Meaning

Clear argues that patience only counts when you are actively taking action, not merely waiting, and that focusing on one thing outperforms being stretched across many. He notes that early attempts often seem trivial or foolish but are the necessary low-stakes practice that builds confidence for higher-stakes moments. He pairs this with quotes from Kent Beck on the reluctance to trade the dream of success for real feedback and from Philip Seymour Hoffman on acting as well as you can in every room, then closes by asking how you could make whatever you are pursuing as easy as possible.

The author, in their own words

3 IDEAS FROM ME

“My personal rule is that it's a good idea to be patient as long as I'm in the mix.

If I'm taking action, putting in my reps, and trying things out, then I should remain patient and see what opportunities arise. But if I'm not taking action consistently, then I'm not practicing patience. I'm just waiting.”

II.

“You'll probably surprise yourself with what you can accomplish—if you're focused on one thing.

You'll probably frustrate yourself with what you fail to accomplish—if you're doing 5 or 7 or 10 things.

Nobody performs well when stretched in a half dozen directions.”

III.

“Whether you are an adult or child, your first attempts will often seem unimportant or foolish.

The open mic night at a nearly empty bar.
The early blog posts that get ignored.
The dance recital on a little stage.

Early attempts are easy to dismiss because they don't seem to amount to much. But you have to do the low stakes stuff to prepare for the high stakes stuff. They are the building blocks of confidence, and that's an enormous thing.”

2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS

Software engineer Kent Beck on why creators struggle to release projects (and why people in general don't take action):

Source: Approaching a Minimum Viable Product (August 2009)

II.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman on making the most of your opportunities:

Source: Interview at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards (January 2006)

1 QUESTION FOR YOU

Take whatever you are trying to accomplish and ask, “How could this be as easy as possible?” How could I make meditating each day as easy possible? How could I make showing appreciation to my partner as easy as possible? How could I make finding great investment opportunities as easy as possible? And so on. You may be surprised how effective the easy version can be.

Key Passages

“By far the dominant reason for not releasing sooner was a reluctance to trade the dream of success for the reality of feedback.”

“This is something a teacher told me years ago, and he's right: If you're auditioning for something that you know you're never going to get—or maybe you read the script and didn't even like it, but you still have to go—if you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has paid rent for, then you're given a free chance to practice your craft. And in that moment, you should act as well as you can. Because when you leave the room and you have acted as well as you can, there's no way the people who have watched you will forget it.”

But if I'm not taking action consistently, then I'm not practicing patience. I'm just waiting.

Nobody performs well when stretched in a half dozen directions.

But you have to do the low stakes stuff to prepare for the high stakes stuff. They are the building blocks of confidence, and that's an enormous thing.