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When we sit down and observe our thoughts for a few minutes, we will notice that a lot of things flow through our mind. The thoughts are just “there.” Nothing we can change about that. But since we have free will, we can decide which thoughts we focus on. Hence, we can influence the direction of consciousness. This realization is critical to the way we live. It’s the difference between “I can’t help but feel this way” and “I feel this way because I decided to feel this way.”
We prefer to entertain the same thoughts because they give us a sense of familiarity.
You don’t need an “all is lost” moment. Those type of moments almost never happen.
Thoughts are important. But not all thoughts are equal. The quality of your thoughts matters the most.
“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”
“I know one thing: That I know nothing,” is what Socrates famously told the Oracle of Delphi when Socrates was declared the wisest man on earth.
Every two hours or so, sit down and write about what you’re thinking at that very moment.
His most important idea is that we should question the source of our beliefs, not the belief itself. Because most
of our beliefs are based on our or other people’s perception.
At the core of thinking lies our ability to separate the truth from falsehood.
“The attitude of looking away from first things, principles, 'categories,' supposed necessities; and of looking towards last things, fruits, consequences, facts.” Thoughts should serve a useful purpose. If they don’t, they’re useless. That’s straight thinking.
Understanding that life is not linear helps us to change the way we think.
If you want the dots to connect in the future, you have to make sure you form dots in your brain. The only way you form dots is by learning, doing, making mistakes, reflecting, or anything you can do to feed your brain with the input it needs to give you the output you want.
cognitive load
A heuristic is a strategy we derive from previous experience with a similar problem. One heuristic that everyone knows is “trial and error,” a strategy for finding answers to problems we face. It’s also a way of thinking. But trial and error is not always the most practical strategy.
Another heuristic that’s not practical is “social proof.” We often make decisions based on what others do or say.
The familiarity heuristic also explains why we favor things and places we know over novelty. It’s one of those things we see every day. We eat the same things, we walk the same route, we make the same mistakes, and we complete the same tasks at work. Over and over again. And then, we complain that our lives are stuck or boring.
And often, heuristics lead to unsatisfying outcomes.
preoccupied mind.
You only have to be aware of your thoughts. Acknowledge them. But never blame yourself or say, “Why do I have these thoughts?”
It’s better to be aware of your thoughts and decide what you will ignore, and what you will give importance to.
Only think about things you can control. That automatically eliminates about 99% of your thoughts because there’s very little you control in life.
What’s a useless thought? Anything out of your control and without a useful purpose.
What it comes down to is this: Avoid making decisions based on beliefs, obvious logic, and even science.
The solution to making better decisions is not more knowledge. Instead, I’ve found that a pragmatic and neutral perspective leads to better-informed decisions.
“It’s a common belief that your first reaction is the most honest, but I disagree. Your first reaction is usually outdated. Either it’s an answer you came up with long ago and now use instead of thinking, or it’s triggering a knee-jerk emotional response to something that happened long ago.”
I’ve often been too hard on myself because I didn’t have an instant answer to my personal problems. That doesn’t make you dumb. It makes you human.
we become too dependent on something when we give it too much importance.
Money is a replaceable resource. When you’re out of it, you can earn it back. You can’t say the same for time. Don’t spend too much time thinking about money.
When you combine a few rules, you have a system.
you don’t regret what you did in life, you regret what you didn’t do.
When we hold on to a lot of things in the past, they form an obstacle to living in the present.
Stop thinking and start feeling.
“The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”
