thinking

Imported tag from Readwise

In a world that constantly vies for your attention, the ability to steer and maintain your focus is akin to having a superpower. Nurturing this skill through deep thinking boosts your productivity and allows you to reclaim sovereignty over your thoughts.

TfTHacker • Finding Signal in the Noise: The Transformative Power of Deep Thinking

It is funny how we tend to practice for a lot of activities in advance of performing, like sports, music, rehearsing for something like a speech or even a small, important talk, but we rarely practice intentional thinking. While typical mediation points to emptying your brain and breathing, which provides some benefit, I have found that loading my brain up with something is more effective. I have found this helpful both in my walk with God and in problem solving. By “loading” a problem that I’m thinking through and going for a walk or other such environment to encourage my brain to enter into diffuse thinking. Instead of white-knuckling it through the problem with all the thoughts and other “noise”, my brain takes a fresh, calming breath and engages with the problem or refreshes with scripture I have loaded. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to remember our Creator, to be still and know that He is God. To know that He is in control and has designed us and the world. What a great reminder during a hectic day. Loading this into my memory, then going outside to walk and think on this for 15-minutes recharges me and reorients me properly.

We are constantly bombarded with notifications, and information can feel overwhelming, like trying to hear a whisper in a room. It’s easy for our thoughts to get drowned out by distractions. This is where time for thinking comes in, as it is helpful and essential for keeping our minds clear and boosting productivity.

TfTHacker • Finding Signal in the Noise: The Transformative Power of Deep Thinking

This such a true paragraph. Though, it seems like the “noise” was initially amplified almost one hundred years ago on September 7, 1927, when the television was first invented. Today, with all the forms of constant input, it feels like this noise is more of an incessant scream!

The reason so many people have trouble writing is that it's fundamentally difficult. To write well you have to think clearly, and thinking clearly is hard.

Paul Graham • Writes and Write-Nots

No one cares. None of it changes the outcome or solves the problems that still remain.

Shane Parrish • Clear Thinking

No one grows up saying I want to do the same thing everyone else is doing. And yet there is a comfort to surrounding yourself with people who agree with you, or who are doing the same thing you’re doing.

Shane Parrish • Clear Thinking

This has been bouncing around in my head for quite some time, more around business and the “what are our competitors doing” kind of sense, but similar. I keep thinking about all moms asking the question, “if little Johnny jumped off the bridge, would you?” It’s funny how we are confronted with this idea early in life, but still fall in line.

I have also read a few different business books and articles talking about senior leadership and taking risks to go against the grain which they implied are ill-advised. On one hand, it makes sense if long-term revenue generation is working. But, what about innovation? Avoiding escalation of commitment and changing bad practices? Is it risky? Sure. But, the alternative is to just say “yes” and go with the flow?

Solutions appear when you stop bargaining and start accepting the reality of the situation. That’s because focusing on the next move, rather than how you got here in the first place, opens you up to a lot of possibilities. When you put outcome over ego, you get better results.

Shane Parrish • Clear Thinking

While there are many such instincts, four stand out to me as the most prominent, the most distinctive, and the most dangerous. These behaviors represent something akin to our brain’s default or factory settings.[3]

Shane Parrish • Clear Thinking

Again, I agree with this in premise, but he says our default brains as designed by natural selection. I would say they are developed and conditionxed by our culture and environment.

The people with the best defaults are typically the ones with the best environment.

Shane Parrish • Clear Thinking

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said. “What’s most important differs for each decision.” I listed off a few different types of decisions and how the variables were different. “That’s not what I mean,” he replied. “Do they know what you value most?” I hesitated. He looked me square in the eye. “Shane, do you know what you value most?” I stared at hi