Hello beautiful people of Expansive Capacity!
Let’s play with numbers, shall we?
No, this isn’t my usual woo-woo goodness trying to expand your numerology know-how into some space it’s ever been. This is a cool concept from Steve Pavlina (h/t Naomi Dunford, for introducing me to this goodness) about how a 7 is really a 3.
For context: If I ask you to rate something on a scale of 1 to 10, there are certain numbers that are very clearly sub-par (a 1, 2, 3 — um, PASS on something ranked that low, right?), others that are pretty dang awesome (8, 9, 10 — yeah, there’s room for improvement with an 8, but we’re in a great place for a YES at that level), and this middle-ground that’s not impressive and not horrible but not worth investing energy/time/money into (that’s your 4, 5, 6 territory).
And then there’s 7.
Guess what people like to choose when ranking things on a scale of 1 to 10?
Good ol’ 7.
Seven is safe. It’s not GREAT, but it’s not full-on *meh*. It’s slightly above-average. It’s non-committal. It’s “music everyone can agree on” but that no one actually likes.
7 is the Michael Bolton of numbers.
As we close off our money month and head into our body one, I’m going to be asking you to assess some of the habits you have — rating things on a scale of 1 to 10 — and I’m not going to let you choose 7.
In fact, Pavlina asserts that 7 is not the safe, non-passionate, easy-listening ranking I’ve detailed, but instead, it is actually a 3.
From his blog post on the subject:
If you were to go out and find someone who’s actually at a 10 in your area and ask them how you were doing on a scale of 1 to 10, they’d be able to label your 7 accurately as a 3. How would an Olympic gymnast rate your current diet and exercise habits? Are you really at 70% of their level? Ask a couple that seems to be googly in love with each other how they’d rate your relationship? Ask the most motivated, successful person you know how they’d rate your career? Is your 7 really a 7? Or is it a 3?
Now, before you start going around assessing things through this new paradigm, I’ll ask you to pledge that you won’t judge yourself too harshly for keeping around 3s, labeling them 7s, and feeling like you’re stumped as to why you can’t create results for yourself like your “solid 7-level” effort seems to indicate you should.
Because it can sting when you realize you were frustrated at your 7s for not getting you results when the truth is, they were never 7s at all. OF COURSE efforts put in at that level weren’t getting results!
We’ve got a lot of juicy love to show ourselves in Expansive Capacity, and all I want for you to do to embrace this superpower today is forgive yourself in advance for any secret 3s you might uncover in your life, and then start ranking.
This is no different than Profit Clarity for its a-ha moments. When you dig in and write it all down, the results you’re living out day to day MAKE SENSE.
You’ve probably heard it in some form before: “Wanna know what you value? Show me your calendar and your checkbook.” Or, more like it these days: Take a look at the hours logged on each app in your smartphone, or examine the amount of convenience-food container waste in your recycling bin.
Start identifying the secret 3s in your life, in your choices, in your relationships with all the things.
Just by *correctly* assessing the situation, you’re poised to pounce on your goals in a way more realistic way!
Which, of course, we’ll dig in on together in the dojo. 😉
Speaking of the beloved dojo, your April Aligned Hustle Calendar is waiting for you at the Welcome page! Enjoy the go-go-go of it all! April’s gonna be fiery!
Let’s make magic, shall we?
All my love,
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!