How to be
a better person –
The accretion approach
Imagine I had a simple answer for you—a “how to be a better person” formula. I am sure you
would love it. BY ERIK KRUGER
10 | www.bettermanblueprint.com | ISSUE 01
UNFORTUNATELY, AND
FORTUNATELY, life is not that
linear.
On your road to becoming a
better person, you will encounter
thousands of people spouting advice,
telling you which tools to use, which
actions to take, and which roads to
follow. Some will try to sell you
shortcuts. Others will try to sell you
overnight success.
I am here to sell you on doing the
damn work, getting comfortable with
slow, and putting in the effort that
will eventually result in an
unstoppable you.
Shortly, we will turn our
attention to a principle I like to call
accretion. But first, a story…
Pablo Picasso was walking
through the market one day when a
woman spotted him. She stopped the
artist, pulled out a piece of paper,
and said, “Mr. Picasso, I am a fan of
your work. Please, could you do a
little drawing for me?”
Picasso smiled and quickly drew
a small but beautiful piece of art on
the paper. Then, he handed the paper
back to her, saying, “That will be one
million dollars.”
“But Mr. Picasso, it only took you
thirty seconds to draw this little
masterpiece,” the woman said.
Picasso replied, “My good woman,
it took me thirty years to draw that
masterpiece in thirty seconds.”
Today, the name “Picasso” is
synonymous with artistic genius, but
Picasso was not born as the Picasso
we know. He became it. Through
years of practice and improvement,
he built legendary skill, presence,
and a legacy—a perfect example of
living a life of steady accretion.
ACCRETION
“The men who are successful in the
end will be those whose success came
as a result of steady accretion.” —
Alexander Graham Bell
It is with Picasso in mind that I
want to introduce you to the
principle of accretion. The definition
of accretion, according to the
Merriam-Webster Dictionary is, a
gradual process in which layers of a
material are formed as small
amounts are added over time.
How does this apply to
becoming a better you?
When you live a life of steady
accretion, you focus on small
improvements over time. You
actively decide to trade in quick fixes,
overnight success, and instant
gratification for the process of
incremental improvement.
This approach yields the best
results and, in my experience,
provides the most sustainability. It
deals head-on with one of the biggest
problems people face when they start
their journey to the upgraded self:
becoming overwhelmed.
Being overwhelmed manifests in
two ways. Procrastination and
exaggerated expectation.
ACCRETION: THE
PROCRASTINATION BEATER
People are amusing. We will
procrastinate as long as we can, until
we are finally pushed to the edge of
change.
You see it when the newbie
delays going to the gym because he
has no idea where to start. He sits at
home watching videos and reading
articles. He gathers knowledge but
no muscle, waiting for the perfect
moment when his newly found
knowledge collides with some
motivation.
Change is overwhelming and
often manifests as procrastination.
better person
When you opt for a life of steady
accretion, you are giving yourself
permission to start small. Starting
small means taking actions that don’t
scare you and with which you are
unlikely to fail.
Our newbie gym-goer could have
arranged first to go for a session with
a personal trainer who could have
shown him the ropes. He could have
learned how different machines work
and which exercises he would benefit
from the most. This small action
would have removed anxiety, and it
already increases his chances of
success.
The change can and should be
small. Not intimidating.
ACCRETION: THE EXPECTATIONS
KILLER
Another way that being overwhelmed
manifests itself is through the lie that
we must go from 0 to 100 km/h
overnight.
I see this all the time.
Someone complains that they
have been trying to meditate but that
the practice is just “too boring and
dull.” The conversation goes
something like this.
Him: “I hate meditation. I see no
benefit of it. Who can sit around for
20 minutes thinking of nothing?”
Me: “Well, why do you do 20
minutes?”
Him: “Because that is what
people recommend.”
Me: “When did you start
meditating?”
Him: “Two days ago.”
We want to excel at the things we
do. That’s fine. But you have to
remember that anyone who is great
at anything started from scratch,
even Picasso.
As with anything else in life, good
things take time. If you swing for the
fences, you will become frustrated
ISSUE 01 | www.bettermanblueprint.com | 11