The “Jar of Awesome” is a jar filled with tiny notes that remind us of our small victories and positive experiences – a great tool for motivation!
Can you name 3 victories you’ve had in your life over the past year?
For many of us, it can be difficult to reflect on our past and recall positive memories. This is due to a strong negativity bias in our minds – which is why when we reflect on our past we often replay the negative memories and not the positive ones.
But our past can be a very healthy source of motivation and inspiration, especially if we focus on the right parts.
In Tim Ferriss’ new book Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers, Ferriss shares a great tool for self improvement that he calls the “Jar of Awesome.”
The “Jar of Awesome” is a jar filled with tiny notes that remind us of our small victories and positive experiences.
Then when you find yourself down and needing an extra boost of motivation, all you need to do is pick out a random piece of paper from your “Jar of Awesome” and you’ll be instantly reminded of a positive experience from your past.
The ability to easily recall positive memories and identify the “small wins” can be a very important aspect of happiness and well-being.
For example, one recent study published in Psychology and Psychotherapy shows that recalling positive memories can help improve our mental health and boost positive emotions.
The “Jar of Awesome” helps us to cultivate more gratitude by reminding us of the many things in our lives that went well. It can also be a fantastic source of motivation and inspiration – by reminding ourselves of our “success stories” from the past, we feel more capable to continue creating new “success stories” in the future.
Here’s Tim Ferriss on how he uses his “Jar of Awesome”:
How to Create Your Own “Jar of Awesome”
Here are simple step-by-step instructions on how to create a “Jar of Awesome” of your own and how to use it to maximum effect.
- Find an empty jar and several pieces of paper.
- Start by writing down between 5-7 “small wins” in your life.
- Write each “small win” on its own piece of paper, then place it in the jar.
- Create a label for your jar and title it “Jar of Awesome.”
- Keep your jar on your desk (or wherever you do most of your work).
- Whenever you need an extra boost of motivation, pick a random paper from the jar and read it to yourself.
- Give yourself a moment to reflect on the “small win” and let the positive emotions surface.
- Put the paper back in the jar once you’re done reflecting.
- Whenever you have another “small win,” write it down and add it to the jar.
- Keep adding to your collection. The more “small wins” you have saved, the more positive memories you have to draw from and be inspired by.
The “Jar of Awesome” can be a very powerful tool for motivation and inspiration. The more you build on it and the more “small wins” you add to your collection, the more powerful it will be.
This is important because we often don’t remember the many “small wins” we have on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. By taking the time to write them down and save them somewhere, you are creating an excellent source of motivation for yourself, especially during tough times when it may be difficult to remind yourself how awesome you can be.
So try it out for yourself and create your own “Jar of Awesome!”
Enter your email to stay updated on new articles in self improvement: