I’ve been thinking a lot about the Proximity Principle lately.
“Steve, that sounds like a made-up term” you might be saying.
And you’d be correct, but I think I might be onto something here.
Let’s say we’re trying to build the habit of exercise. The Proximity Principle states the closer we are to a barbell (and a gym), the more likely we are to get in shape over time.
Actor Terry Crews (shout out Brooklyn Nine-Nine!) was asked on a Reddit AMA how to build the routine of going to the gym; he uses the Proximity Principle perfectly:
“Go to the gym, and just sit there, and read a magazine, and then go home. And do this every day. Go to the gym, don’t even work out. Just GO.
Because the habit of going to the gym is more important than the workout. Because it doesn’t matter what you do. You can have fun — but as long as you’re having fun, you continue to do it.”
Obviously, we know that sitting in the gym lobby won’t make us magically fit.
But over time, our proximity to the equipment, the people, and the idea of getting fit can pay off. We might strike up a conversation with a trainer, sign up for a bodyweight class that looks interesting, or finally try a new exercise after watching a video on the Nerd Fitness YouTube channel.
These little serendipitous moments happen because we were in the right place at the right time, which only happens as a result of us prioritizing our proximity to the gym!
Oh, you’re not a member of a gym and you work from home?
Bring the Proximity Principle to you!
Put a kettlebell next to your desk in your office or kitchen, and I bet you end up doing kettlebell swings between meetings.
Or put a pull-up bar in your doorframe, and you’re more likely to do a few hangs or assisted pull-ups when you go grab your next cup of coffee.
It all counts.
The Proximity Principle works in plenty of other interesting ways too.
As explained in Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code, Brazil’s ability to produce exceptional soccer (football) players can be traced back to the Proximity Principle.
Brazilian children grow up playing a soccer derivative called “Futsal:”
“It resembled soccer, if soccer were played inside a phone booth and dosed with amphetamines.
The ball was half the size but weighed twice as much; it hardly bounced at all. The players trained, not on a vast expanse of grass field, but on basketball-court-size patches of concrete, wooden floor, and dirt. Each side, instead of having eleven players, had five or six.
In its rhythm and blinding speed, the game resembled basketball or hockey more than soccer: it consisted of an intricate series of quick, controlled passes and nonstop end-to-end action…
Futsal players touch the ball far more often than soccer players—six times more often per minute, according to a Liverpool University study. The smaller, heavier ball demands and rewards more precise handling—as coaches point out, you can’t get out of a tight spot simply by booting the ball downfield.”
By reducing the distance between them and the soccer ball, these kids are getting significantly more experience, practice, and chances to develop skills that are required of elite soccer players. They’re getting so many learning cycles in such a short amount of time that they’re getting more chances to learn, adapt, and develop.
Okay, let’s bring this thing back to the individual level!
Personally, I’ve used the Proximity Principle to help me make progress in lots of areas in my life:
- Reading: I try to read as much as possible, instead of spending time on social media. So I bring my Amazon Kindle with me everywhere. I don’t always read it, but I certainly reach for it instead of scrolling social media more frequently than if I didn’t have it with me.
- Dental Health: I put my floss in my shower next to my shampoo. Every time I reach for the shampoo, I see that floss. Then, more often than not, I floss my teeth. Might as well.
- Music: Instead of keeping my violin in my case in the closet, I put it on a stand right next to my desk, severely reducing the distance between me and the instrument. I now pick the instrument up multiple times per workday instead of literally never practicing when it was in my closet.
Now, I want to hear from you.
As we know from a recent newsletter I wrote, it’s not what we say are our priorities, but what we do that reveals our priorities.
How can you use the Proximity Principle to give yourself an even better chance at making progress on that thing?
-Steve
PS: The Proximity Principle works in reverse too! Trying to snack less frequently? If the snacks are in the closet instead of on the counter, we’re less likely to be tempted to eat them. Going a step further, snacks that never make it through the door are infinitely less likely to be eaten.
