Category: Mental Models

You have to be willing to lose the competition in order to win the match. You become too rigid when your mind is set on an outcome. So if you’re competing and you feel like you must win, then you’ll tighten in response to this and try to control the outcome. But the way to…

An act of authenticity requires you to do something that you believe to be true to something else you believe in. Think of your actions as leaves on a tree that connect to branches of truth and reality that shape your worldview supported by a trunk of fundamental beliefs fueled by a spider web of…

If you want to become a more capable person then stop trying to perfect something. Because your goal isn’t the thing. It’s to be better. And usually trying to tweak something into perfection takes away the attention from the massive improvements you could be making. The more you focus on the thing the less important…

If you’re overwhelmed by the number of things you have to do every day then they’re the wrong things to do. There are, and will always be, an infinite number of things you could do in life. And we manage it by seeing tasks from wider and narrower lenses. When you go to dinner with…

Sometimes we don’t realize that when we were young we were trying to throw the recipe of life together with one ingredient, confidence. So we fall down, humble ourselves, lose that confidence, and seek to learn and grow. But when we’re adults, we often fail because we try to put all of the ingredients of…

Becoming jaded is one step in the process of understanding the world. Don’t wear it as a badge of honor over people that think the world is a beautiful place. When you’re ignorant and have unrealistically positive views of the world and then have an experience that teaches you the truth of how dark the…

The generation before believed they needed someone to complete them. Millennials today believe they need to complete themselves. But this idea is flawed. Because what is a complete person? There’s no such thing. And if you assume that you should wait until you’ve worked out all your flaws before entering into a relationship you’ll never…

If you want a fulfilling life learn the difference between craving and desire. Craving is the sensation of wanting something that throws you off balance. Desire is the sensation of want for something that balances you. Your desires are even more intense than your cravings when you tap into them, but they have the effect…

If you’re unable to say no to someone in your life it might be happening for several reasons… One, is that it might just be making you nervous. And if it’s too scary, then the solution is to say “no” more often to smaller things that don’t feel like a big deal. You need practice.…

The more you establish trust with someone the more you can act first and deal with questions later. The way to establish trust is by repeatedly acting first, dealing with questions later, and getting a positive result. Taking a risk is how you learn to trust. And trust enables you to take a risk. It’s…