5 Simple Mind Hacks That Changed My Life
2) How to make a final decision.
I have many flaws, but one of them isn’t a lack of decisiveness. I’m good at making decisions. However, like a lot of people, I used to do too much rehashing. Did I make the right call? Should I reconsider? Then, when things did go wrong, I used to kick myself because I’d obviously made the wrong decision… ehr, right?
Wrong.
Often, there is no obviously correct decision. You have two almost equally attractive options and you must choose between them knowing that ultimately it may be the wrong call. So how do you deal with that? I adopted a rule that I learned from reading billionaire Richard Branson: “When you have to make a decision, think carefully about it, pick the best option, and then don’t revisit it again unless you receive new information.”
This rule allowed me to stop over-thinking decisions and quit second guessing myself so that I could make the best possible call and live with it. If it works for a corporate genius like Branson, it’ll work for the rest of us, too.
Even better than learning from your mistakes is learning from somebody else’s
everyone makes mistakes, that’s why it’s so easy to blame all yours on other people.
And it’s a lot less painful.
Bad GPS day pic
“You always do the best you can right now.” is postmodernist BS.
People slack off – we all do – sometimes out of laziness. To deny this is evading reality.
I would rather be a bit down than to lie to myself.
One more aspect to this – If you test students for self esteem – those that score lowers achieve the best – and those that score highest the least.
Oh, hear hear, Karl! The only mildly useful take-away in the article is the Frederick Douglass quote.
I think you missed the point. When a person slacks off, and performs poorly due to that decision, they, at that point, have to realize that they’ve done the best they can at that time, figure out the root cause (slackerliness) and change it. Then the next time, they’ll be able to do better. Cause and effect, and learning from your mistakes. That’s what I got out of that.
#5 is a tough one for me, too. It’s so much easier to stay at home, and so much more challenging to get up and leave the house. Thanks for verbalizing that.
I agree about self-esteem. This is the problem with American education, in my view: when the main goal is to develop self-esteem, nobody can be better than the worst student. Otherwise, it will hurt his/her feelings.
This was a terrific article. Thank you for it!
This was a good read, especially #5 since it convinced me to go to a party I’ve been invited to Saturday night even though I’d rather stay home alone.
It reminds me very much of the “Four Agreements”, which I try very hard to live by. Look them up if you get a minute.
New Age crap.
Great article, just what I needed right now. I will be forwarding and bookmarking it – thanks!
Hermano!
Great article and thanks for writing it. Levels of self-disclosure like this take courage but they are what make reading the candid thoughts of others such an unparalleled experience.
Number 5 reminded me of two things. Jackie Vernon’s (a hilarious comedian but someone who was at his heyday probably long before your time) answer to why he hated to go outside: “’Cause there’s *air* out there.”
The other’s a tad more philosophical, a quote from Norman Vincent Peale: “In anticipate all upcoming events with enthusiasm and expectation of good.” This one has worked wonders for me.
Gosh darn it….”I anticipate….”
Good advice that all of us need to remember. I also like to keep my sense of humor and wit, for the world is a very serious place and if we loose our ability to laugh, especially at yourself, all is lost. The ability to love and laugh is what keeps us going!
John, the threats you endure are serious, be careful my friend!
I have an inner drill sergeant. He’s always right.