One quiet breakthrough hiding in your past

A few years ago, I was stuck.

Not in an obvious, rock-bottom kind of way.

Just stuck in motion. Making moves, chasing progress, hitting goals, but somehow still circling the same feeling:

Not enough. Not yet. Not there.

That’s when a mentor gave me a deceptively simple exercise that shifted things dramatically.

She told me to make a list of the five most impactful moments in my life.

Career wins, turning points, creative sparks, personal shifts, etc.

Anything that changed me in a big way.

Then for each one, ask two questions:

1. What actions did I take leading up to this change?

2. What energy or mindset was I in right before things changed?

That’s it. Two lenses.

Effort + Energy.

What happened as a result of this exercise shifted me.

I realized that the biggest breakthroughs in my life didn’t come from more grind and hustle.

They came from alignment, from clarity and from being in a rhythm with myself.

Of course there was effort, but it wasn’t frantic, fast or unconscious.

It was focused, intentional, and fuelled by momentum, not stress.

It made me rethink the whole idea of progress.

It’s not about stacking on more actions, bigger to-do lists and more projects.

It’s about stacking the right energy, working with my moods not against them, knowing when to push and when to rest.

Growth, change and transformation isn’t always loud.

It doesn’t need to be dramatic.

The real big shifts can happen when you finally notice the pattern behind your progress.

This exercise gave me that.

Try it out.

Get out of analyzing yourself into a corner and try to find that pattern in your energy and your effort that moves you forward.

In my experience, the biggest breakthroughs we’re chasing often come from what is already inside waiting to be seen and understood.

Much Love,

Cory Firth
Creator of One Minute Weekend

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