Through visualizing potential threats, you're showing yourself that even when something bad happens, you're still okay. You can still find a way forward.

Here's how to use this practice to strengthen your plans: 1. Choose a goal or project 2. Brainstorm everything that could go wrong 3. Identify the biggest threats 4. Go through each threat: visualize that scenario, create clarity, plan ahead 5. Shift your plans

Stoics call it premeditatio malorum. Project managers call it a pre-mortem. Others call it negative visualization. But the general idea is the same: deliberately imagine what could go wrong *before* it happens.

It's impossible to predict the future... ...so what can you do about that?

Tired of plans that don't work? You sketch out the perfect plan. You're energized. You can see the path forward. And then... ...life happens. 😩

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩. Generic time blocks give you the illusion of structure while letting you avoid the real priorities.

When the time block ends, you tell yourself you worked on the project. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼?

When you write "Work on project for client X" in your calendar, it feels like you've blocked your time. But then you bounce between tasks. Answer a few emails. Tweak that deck. Check on the proposal.

You're time-blocking your weeks religiously. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀? The problem isn't that you're not planning. It's 𝙝𝙤𝙬 you're planning.

This isn't about cutting corners. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Same quality work. Fraction of the time. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

Imagine if you could: 🔎 Focus on what really matters 🧠 Stop forgetting your priorities 🚨 Stop leaving things until the last minute 🤝 Effectively delegate work you don't need to do yourself ⚙️ Automate parts of your work so you can spend time on what truly merits your input

With the right tools and systems, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. The solution isn't working harder or faster. It's working differently.

How to get clarity fast: 1. Start a 5-minute timer 2. Write down everything that comes up 3. Don't edit--just dump 4. If you're still going when the timer ends, reset it 5. Analyze *after* writing everything down

Feeling stuck trying to make sense of something that just happened? Here's where to start: Get it 𝘼𝙇𝙇 out of your head.

What contrasting traits do you have that surprise people when they learn about them?

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅. Traits that seem contradictory often make perfect sense when you zoom out and see the full picture. 👷 The introverted event organizer. 🧗 The cautious adventurer. 🧑‍🏫 The talkative bookworm. 👩‍🎨 The structured creative.

I'm definitely introverted. I love being alone with a good book or TV show. Large parties and crowds drain me completely. But give me a small group, a compelling conversation about books or movies, or a solid board game--that's another one of my happy places.

"Wait... 𝙔𝙤𝙪 organize all those events? But you're so quiet!" I get this reaction a lot. Usually it's the reverse--people come to several events I've hosted and are shocked to discover I'm actually an introvert.

By collecting evidence for your progress and wins, you force your brain to recognize that reality is more than what it can recall on demand. What will you remind yourself of this week if you're feeling behind?

Keep a brag doc: Make a list of things worth bragging about: completed goals, decisions made, moments where you've noticed personal growth. Update this doc weekly, review it monthly, and share it with your manager. Celebrate your wins.

Keep a done list: Make a list of everything you accomplish throughout the day. At the end of the day, review that list and remind yourself of everything you actually did.

All-or-Nothing Thinking: You're more likely to view things in a binary way, either A or B. You may also know this as perfectionism. There's always going to be something more you can do, so you see it as unfinished even if you're 99.999% of the way there.

Zeigarnik Effect: You're more likely to remember unfinished tasks than completed ones. You remember the things you still have to do. You forget what you completed.

Negativity Bias: You're more likely to focus on negative things than neutral or positive ones. You focus on everything you haven't done yet, all the stuff you still need to do. You don't give the same weight to what you've accomplished, all the things you've done up until now.

You always feel behind... ...even when you're not. Why is that?

What's something you haven't done in years that you miss?

Simon and I just won a casual badminton tournament with friends--it was a lot of fun. My last badminton tournament was almost a decade ago. 👵 It's been way too long since I've stepped onto a tournament court.

Look for labels: • It was horrible. • He is unreliable. • She was inconsistent. Those are stories, not facts.

Words like "always," "never," and "impossible" are dead giveaways you're in story territory.

Sometimes stories serve you. Other times, they make you give up on people, settle for less, or play it safe when you should go big. The pain isn't in what happened--it's in forgetting that the story is just a story.

When something happens--someone doesn't text back, you miss a deadline, a conversation goes sideways--your brain immediately starts narrating. And those stories? They feel like facts.

Your brain is a meaning-making machine. But here's the problem: it can't tell the difference between a helpful story and one that's keeping you small.

Download my Self-Coaching Starter Kit 👇 and learn how to coach yourself out of perfectionism and into action. selfcoaching.tylersuzukinelson.com

Almost a year into your job search and you're still "just preparing"? You're not asking for referrals. Not applying to jobs. Waiting until you can answer every question perfectly. The market isn't keeping you unemployed. Your perfectionism is.

The tools I teach aren't just theory. They work across every area of life--relationships, sports, work, mental health. One of my readers took a newsletter about anxiety and used it to improve their athletic performance--that's proof the framework is solid.

Every week, I send out a newsletter where I share mindset tips, practical tools and systems, and stories from my own life. 👉 Subscribe here: newsletter.tylersuzukinelson.com

We all experience Dream Stealers. It's completely normal. But being aware of them--and recognizing the impact they're having on your life--is the first step to preventing them from getting in your way.

Examples of Dream Stealers include: • I can do it later. • This is just how things are. • What if I embarrass myself? • I'm too old to learn this now. • I can't handle so many projects at once. • I'm not sure if this is the best way to move forward.

Dream Stealers are the thoughts that prevent you from achieving your dreams. They whisper convincing lies that keep you playing small, hesitating, and staying in your comfort zone.

You have negative automatic thought patterns that are keeping you stuck exactly where you are right now. I call them Dream Stealers.

It's not a problem that life will always be a mix of pain and pleasure. The richness of our emotional experience is a direct reflection of the contrast between our highs and lows. The valleys make the peaks feel higher. The darkness makes the light feel brighter.

The contrast of our emotions shapes how we actually experience them.

There's a fascinating concept in psychology called Hedonic Adaptation (also known as the Hedonic Treadmill). It describes our very human tendency to return to an emotional equilibrium--no matter how many moments of extreme happiness or sadness we experience.

Life was always meant to be a mix of pleasant and painful emotions.

It isn't a problem if someone feels angry, sad, or disappointed sometimes. In fact, those feelings can be a completely healthy response to what they're experiencing.

And when you're procrastinating, wasting time and attention, and refusing to make things work because of those wrong assumptions? You're not going to see the change you want.

You're refusing to work with your teammate because they're "disorganized"--when the truth is they just don't see the value of the overhead in your suggested methods.

You're pouring time and energy into things you know your client will love--when their priorities lie somewhere else entirely.

You're procrastinating because you think you lack the necessary skills--when the reality is you're fully capable of figuring things out as you go along.

Working with bad information is brutal. 👿 It's like making decisions based on a bunch of lies. 🤷 It's like trying to navigate a road trip with a map from another century. 😫 It's like trying to ace the final exam after sitting in the wrong lecture all semester.