OMG, I'm loving this convo! You're absolutely right, "don't do" lists are like the secret sauce that makes resolutions stick. Those two phrases? Pure GOLD! And I totally get what you mean about our minds jumping to conclusions. It's like, "Oh, I focused for an hour, so I must be doing it right... wait, then I scrolled for 2 hours and failed" Mind. Games.
But here's the thing: those lists aren't just about avoiding distractions (although, let's be real, that's a great start). They're also about cultivating habits of intentionality. When you say "new me doesn't let himself get distracted by social media," you're not just listing out things NOT to do... you're creating a mindset shift.
It's like, if I want to focus for an hour without getting lost, I need to acknowledge that my mind is already wired to wander (hello, social media!), but instead of beating myself up over it, I'm gonna own the fact that I'm human. And then, I'll make a conscious choice to refocus.
So, in short, those "don't do" lists aren't just about what not to do... they're about what we DO choose to do when our minds start to wander. Am I right?