One Gray Square Method — developed by Stephen Duneier

I crafted this technique from watching a TED talk by Stephen Duneier, and the Lord opened my eyes on how to make it work.

Link to the TED Talk

The Basics:

If a painting is made up of many gray squares, essentially pixels. If you can draw a single gray square. So you draw one gray square, another and another. You build and build on this idea. Eventually you have reached and drawn the whole picture. Based on this idea, if you could draw that one square in theory, you could draw anything! This is the idea, this is skill, this the concept, that if you can do one small part, you can do the whole thing. Now, let’s apply it!

Let’s take a task you really really don’t want to do: Exercise! Everyone loves to hate exercising. Let’s apply the One Gray Square technique to our mentality!

Sit somewhere and say to yourself, “If I can do 1 pushup, I can do 2. If I can do 2, I can do 3. If I can do 3, I can do 4. If I can do 4, I can do 5.” See how your mind fights back. Potentially, your mind will fight back. Let this be gauge for the level of willpower you have.

If you feel you cannot even do 1 pushup, fret not. Now, consider that a failure, and adapt the mentality that you will not quit, that you will keep trying!

Let’s apply the One Gray Square to this smaller ceiling of a problem!

Tell yourself “If I can sit on the floor, I can lay on the floor. If I can lay on the floor, I push my body up on the floor. If I can push my body up on the floor, I can lower it and do one pushup.” Then repeat the beginning mentality of the pushup process.

Okay, at this point it is my hope you have been seeing this idea that you can take -Mount Everest- and -move her, one rock at a time-. It’s just you may at times and for tasks you do not believe you can accomplish -carry out, smaller rocks-.

Now, let’s say you believe you can do those pushups, but you do not want to do them. What to do?

Same concept!

Speak to yourself, “Could I do an easy task, that I really don’t want to do, for 30 seconds? Yes (says your mind). Could I do an easy task I don’t want to do for 1 min? Yes ( says your mind).” Ramp this up to -1min, 2min, 3min-, then increase to a medium task, then to a hard task.

This is the concept, this is the idea Mr Duneier spoke of in his TED talk. To take something so big and make it so small and ramp up. This is a beautiful way to break through the firewall of one’s mind.

At this point, realize, you can do those pushups and you can do tasks you do not really want to do. So. Go. Do. It.

Use this anywhere and everywhere you need to do something that you do no want to do.

Accept where you have failed my friends, do not quit, but keep trying. Christian