How I live by the QLIQNO principle

RK -

On Monday's Weekly Wyat episode, I talked about the QLIQNO principle. In case you missed the podcast, feel free to go listen to it, but the basic premise of the principle is this:

To become really good at something, start by taking quality in while putting quantity out.

This principle helps you get over over-analyzing and procrastinating and demanding perfection out of yourself. Just start, and start with imperfect stuff. Perfect will come with the tons of practice you get by embracing imperfectionism. When you do your thing, forget quality; just focus on quantity.

At the same time, subject yourself to quality by demanding it of all the things you consume and subject yourself to.

(If this sounds hypocritical to you, bear in mind that in time, you'll be making amends for the imbalance with all the quality you end up producing for other beginners to consume.)

I've embraced shipping quantity over quality for years now. But how do I do the other half of the equation? What kinds of quality inputs do I enjoy? Here are some noteworthy mentions:

  1. Food. I consider processed foods low quality and minimally processed foods high quality, and therefore, the majority of the foods I eat are single-ingredient foods: beef, eggs, butter, and cream.
  2. Entertainment. To me, the more demanding the entertainment is, the higher its quality. This is why I mainly read books to entertain myself. I've lost my taste for movies and TV shows, making only few exceptions.  
  3. People. I keep my communication to negative people to an absolute minimum and prefer the company of people who lift me up and whom I can lift up.
  4. Thoughts. This is a personal choice, but I choose not to think destructive thoughts. For some people, negative and destructive thoughts might be high quality. Personally, I notice that my quality of life decreases with each negative thought, so I do the opposite - think constructively, optimistically, and positively.  
  5. Clothes. This is something I still struggle with, though, because high quality clothing costs significantly more than low quality clothing and I still have some scarcity mindset tendencies when it comes to spending money. (The four high quality things above don't cost any more than corresponding low quality ones.) However, whenever I find myself shopping at high street clothing stores, I always check the material labels and make sure I'm paying for natural fabrics and not some plastic item like polyester. (A good hack is to shop knits at men's section, even if you're a woman. Men's clothing tend to have less plastic and more natural fibers in them, while costing less.)
  6. Hair and skin care. I go to my regular hairdresser every few months, and while she does charge more than the bare minimum, she deserves every penny. I also use high quality organic cosmetic products.

Reading the list above, it sounds like I'm telling you to do as I do. If you're me, then yes, do as I do. And if you're not me who's reading this, then I recommend that you analyse what high quality means to you and that make your own QuaLity In list. (While putting QuaNtity Out at a regular basis.)

RK out.