Have you ever wondered why some people seem to achieve more with less effort? What’s their secret?

The answer is simple: they use distinctions.

Distinctions are differences that make a difference. In other words, they’re small changes (also called life hacks) or insights that can considerably improve the way you live.

In this blog post, we’ll explore some simple life hacks you can make immediately and will require very little of your time and energy, but have the potential to give you a much better and easier life.

We’ll talk about:

• Why using distinctions can make your life better

• Various distinctions you can apply for a positive impact

• How to start applying distinctions in your life

Distinctions: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?

A distinction is a subtle difference that makes a big impact. It can be a change in perspective, behavior, or technique that leads to a better outcome.

Distinctions are powerful because they help us optimize our performance and results. They also help us avoid unnecessary mistakes and problems. By applying distinctions, we can save time, energy, money, and frustration.

Distinctions are everywhere, and they can be applied to any area of life. Here are some examples of distinctions that can help you improve your life in various ways.

80/20 Rule: The Pareto Principle

According to the Pareto Principle, 20% of your efforts generate 80% of results in any endeavor, and vice-versa.

The Pareto Principle is not a distinction in and of itself, but rather a guideline for where you’re going to find most  distinctions. If we’re able to identify the 20% of things we can change that will result in the most positive outcomes, we can transform our lives for the better, with very little effort.

Distinction for Acing University Exams

When our CEO Chris Thompson was still an engineering student at university, he had exams that allowed him to carry a one-page cheat sheet. Chris found this to be wonderfully helpful, as he could rely on the cheat sheet to remember the principles and formulas he could otherwise forget.

But this was only allowed in a few classes though. In most exams, he couldn’t use that resource. Until one day, he found that he could use the cheat sheet and get the same results without having to actually bring it with him to the exams.

The act of writing on paper alone allows one to better understand and retain more information. Chris used this to get good grades at university and still uses it to keep track of his various tasks as a business owner and manager.

Get into the habit of writing the things you want to remember on paper. Even if you don’t intend to revisit those notes later, it’s still an excellent way to learn and memorize things.

Distinction for Better Quality Tea

Certain mechanical tasks that all of us do could be made better with very minor adjustments.

For example: Our head trainer Mike Mandel loves his tea. As he explains, for a good mug of tea, you shouldn’t drop a tea bag into the hot water when making tea.

To get the right degree of saturation, you should instead place the tea bag in the bottom of the mug, and then pour the water on. That’s the way to make a good tea!

Can you see how distinctions make a difference?

Distinction for Eye Closure in Hypnosis

As hypnosis trainers, we believe hypnosis should be easy and simple. In the early days of hypnotism, most practitioners used hypnotic inductions that took FOREVER to work. Some of them were mainly centered around eye closure, where the hypnotist would constantly give suggestions such as:

“Your eyes are getting heavier” “You’re getting sleepier and sleepier” “Your eyes are burning. They want to close”

By almost endlessly repeating these phrases, the subject’s eyes would eventually tire and close (or they would get fed up and leave). In modern days, there is a far better method for achieving eye closure that works just as well, which we teach our students

To get eye closure, the technique we teach at the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy consists of saying to the subject the following sentence:

“Please, close your eyes now.”

Believe it or not, it works!

Distinction for Becoming a Judo Olympic Champion

Judo is a modern Japanese martial art and Olympic sport. The main objective of competitive judo is to perform a perfect throw against an opponent, scoring an ippon and finishing the match.

68 different throws are officially listed in the Kodokan, and many more are known to exist. But surprisingly, most world-class judokas and olympic champions have only extensively practiced and perfected five or six of them.

Of course, these athletes can likely perform almost every other technique, but only a handful have been truly mastered by each athlete. As a result, they’ll resort to these same five or six techniques to win against most opponents.

Consider how similar principles can apply to other fields of endeavor. You may have access to an immense variety of resources and abilities to learn and choose from, but it may be worth trimming down to those that will give you the best results.

Distinction for Upgrading Your Color Scheme

Many people with a particular interest in fashion spend a lot of time testing color combinations in clothing. 

A friend of Mike’s found an easy solution to this: she’d look for color combinations in nature. When a gorgeous scarf-and-top combination she wore caught Mike’s attention, she explained she’d seen a beautiful bunch of red and purple berries together and immediately realized she could replicate that color scheme on her outfit.

Nature doesn’t get it wrong. The color variations on plants, various landscapes, and even some animals are always pleasing to the eye. Next time you’re in doubt as to what colors to wear on a Saturday night, just look for them in nature.

Distinction to End Procrastination (Get the Pecker Done)

When faced with an unpleasant task, our natural tendency is to put it off until it’s unavoidable.

The way we typically do this is by doing more pleasant endeavors first. That way, we’re able to postpone the dreaded obligation for as long as we possibly can. But that’s not good, as that task is likely to become more painful to perform the longer we attempt to avoid it.

Get the pecker done first and foremost. That’s our solution to the problem.

Just do what you have to do as soon as humanly possible. After that, the sense of relief will put you in a much better state for anything else.

How to Apply Distinctions in Your Life

As you can see, distinctions are powerful tools that can help you improve your life in many ways. They are easy to apply and can make a huge difference in your results. If you want to learn more distinctions and other NLP techniques that can help you achieve your goals and transform your life, I have two amazing offers for you.

First, you can join the Personal Growth Membership and get access to exclusive content that will help you boost your personal growth and happiness. 

The Personal Growth Membership is a monthly subscription that gives you access to Mike’s personal coaching sessions, guided meditations, brain software audio tracks, live Q&A sessions, and more. You will also get discounts on Mike’s products and events. The Personal Growth Membership is the ultimate resource for anyone who wants to take their life to the next level with NLP and hypnosis.

Second, you can enroll in the NLP Essentials course and get a solid foundation in the essentials of NLP in just about 6 hours. 

NLP Essentials is a dynamic, fun course that cuts through all the filler and teaches you what matters in NLP. You will learn principles, techniques, and language patterns that will help you communicate better, change behaviors, and enhance your life. You will also get many demonstrations and an optional certification exam at no extra charge. NLP Essentials is the ideal way to learn NLP with this fun, engaging course.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the best and become the best version of yourself. Click here to join the Personal Growth Membership and here to enroll in the NLP Essentials course now!