Unless you do the work, you can’t expect to create anything of value. But why is it called work? It must be dificult at some point in time, either now or as you were struggling to improve. To gain the most from your struggle, focus on what you can’t yet do. A piano player must … [Read more…]
Being unrelenting is a powerful skill. But your willpower is not reliable. You run out of will. Instead of “forcing” yourself to do something, here are two strategies to improve performance. The first is to understand why you want something. You want to have a pull toward some positive goal, not a push from a … [Read more…]
Every day the battle must be fought anew. No rest will feel justified unless you’ve fought hard. Work on the systems you have in your environment. Work on your personal philosophy. That will train your animal self to be in line with your human desires.
You don’t know when the next challenge is coming. You don’t know how serious it will be. Keep your head in the game by taking pauses.
Imagine you wake up, tired and sore. You’re still groggy, but not sleepy, and you feel there’s a lot that needs to be done. How do you 1) find out what to do 2) actually become capable enough to do it? One key idea is that you are an animal. That means your ability to … [Read more…]
The brain has many ways to categorize and structure information. This demonstrates there is no one way for intelligence to operate. In fact this is verified many times. Octopus and dolphin brains are very different. Octopuses have no spine: the only hard part of their body is the beak they eat with. Yet both are … [Read more…]
Seek an environment that stimulates you over the long-term. It’s important to do novel things in all areas of life: intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and physical. Each enlightens the others. All the parts have a function and deserve your attention. Look at your hands right now. You’ll see the adaptations for tree-climbing, prairie-walking, and tool-using. This … [Read more…]
How do you know what will actually give you happiness? Is there a truth that will tell you in practical terms what to do with your day? I don’t think there’s a direct answer that works for everyone. In fact this is what gives you value. You decide what’s important and how to get there. … [Read more…]
The state of your mind is fully dependent on the state of your body. If you aren’t taking care of your body nothing productive will come from your mind. It’s really that clear-cut. This is because the mind’s evolutionary role is to aid the body. When animals in the past helped the mind but hurt … [Read more…]
You don’t have to do anything. You can even gain some control over your perceptions. Practice training the brain to learn a better story. Your method of perceiving can change with effort. This is time-consuming and difficult, but definitely possible. The neural networks in your brain are trained by senses. With imagination and practice you … [Read more…]