CLEAR THINKING

CLEAR THINKING

Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinar

Introduction: The Power of Clear Thinking in Ordinary Moments

Part 1. The Enemies of Clear Thinking

1.1 Thinking Badlv-or Not Thinking at All?

1.2 The Emotion Default

1.3 The Ego Default

1.4 The Social Default

1.5 The Inertia Default

1.6 Default to Clarity

Part 2. Building Strength

2.1 Self-Accountability

2.2 Self-Knowledge

2.3 Self-Control

2.4 Self-Confidence

2.5 Strength in Action

2.6 Setting the Standards

2.7 Exemplars + Practice

Part 3. Managing Weakness

3.1 Knowing Your Weaknesses

3.2 Protecting Yourself with Safequards

3.3 How to Handle Mistakes

Part 4. Decisions: Clear Thinking in Action

4.1 Define the Problem

4.2 Explore Possible Solutions

4.3 Evaluate the Options

4.4 Do it!

4.5 Margin of Safety

4.6 Learn from Your Decisions

Part 5. Wanting What Matters

5.1 Dickens's Hidden Lesson

5.2 The Happiness Experts

5.3 Memento Mori

5.4 Life Lessons from Death

CONCLUSION THE VALUE OF CLEAR THINKING

Never forget that your unconscious is smarter than you, faster than you, and more powerful than you. It may even control you. You will never know all of its secrets.

-CORDELIA FINE, A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives

Here's how each essentially functions:

1. The emotion default: we tend to respond to feelings rather than reasons and facts.

2. The ego default: we tend to react to anything that threatens our sense of self-worth or our position in a group hierarchy.

3. The social default: we tend to conform to the norms of our larger social group.

4. The inertia default: we're habit forming and comfort seeking. We tend to resist change, and to prefer ideas, processes, and environments that are familiar.

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.

-WALTER LIPPMANN, The Stakes of Diplomacy

Criticizing others is easier than coming to know yourself.

-BRUCE LEE

I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. -W. E. HENLEY. "INVICTUS"

SELF-CONFIDENCE IS ABOUT TRUSTING IN YOUR ABILITIES AND YOUR VALUE TO others.

THERE ARE TWO COMPONENTS TO BUILDING STRENGTH BY RAISING THE BAR:

(a) Choose the right exemplars-ones that raise your standards. Exemplars can be people you work with, people you admire, or even people who lived long ago. It doesn't matter. What matters is they make you better in a certain area, like a skill, trait, or value.

(b) Practice imitating them in certain ways. Create space in the moment to reflect on what they'd do in your position, and then act accordingly.

Life gets easier when you don't blame other people and focus on what you can control.

-JAMES CLEAR

Safeguards are tools for protecting ourselves from ourselves-from weaknesses that we don't have the strength to overcome.

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

-NEIL PEART

DEFINE the problem

EXPLORE possible solutions

EVALUATE

the options

MAKE the JUDGMENT

EXECUTE the best option

The decision = the judgment that a certain option is the best one

THE DEFINITION PRINCIPLE: Take responsibility for defining the problem. Don't let someone define it for you. Do the work to understand it. Don't use jargon to describe or explain it.

THE ROOT CAUSE PRINCIPLE: Identify the root cause of the problem. Don't be content with simply treating its symptoms.

SAFEGUARD: Build a problem-solution firewall. Separate the problem-defining phase of the decision-making process from the problem-solving phase.

THE ASAP PRINCIPLE: If the cost to undo the decision is low, make it as soon as possible.

THE ALAP PRINCIPLE: If the cost to undo a decision is high, make it as late as possible.

Good outcome

You make a good decision and things go as planned. You deserve the success you enjoy-you earned it. Don't let it go to your head. Stay on track and continue improving your process.

You make a bad decision but get lucky- like winning at roulette. Your success is undeserved. You did nothing to earn it. You just got lucky. Eventually you're going to lose. Change while you can. Grow up and take command of your decision-making.

Bad outcome

You make a good decision, but things don't go as planned. Bad luck! Don't get discouraged. Trust the process. Learn from the experience and continue improving.

You make a bad decision and are unlucky-ike losing at roulette. You deserve failure. You earned it. Now learn from it. Let this be a wake-up call. Change while you can. Grow up and take command of your decision- making.

GOOD DECISION-MAKING COMES down to two things:

1. Knowing how to get what you want

2. Knowing what's worth wanting

GOOD JUDGMENT IS EXPENSIVE, BUT POOR JUDGMENT WILL COST YOU A FORTUNE