Here’s your weekly dose of timeless ideas to sharpen your mind, make smarter decisions, and live better.
Quotes
I.
I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.
― Marie Curie
II.
If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.
― Lawrence Peter
III.
Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
― Mark Twain
Ideas
I.
Once we get the things we are striving for, we rarely remain satisfied with them. The things are just the bait. Chasing after them forces us to evolve, and it is the evolution and not the rewards themselves that matters to us and to those around us. This means that for most people success is struggling and evolving as effectively as possible.
Ray Dalio in Principles: Life and Work
II.
There are two types of mistakes: mistakes of ambition and mistakes of sloth.
The first is the result of a decision to act – to do something. This type of mistake is made with incomplete information, as it’s impossible to have all the facts beforehand. This is to be encouraged. Fortune favors the bold.
The second is the result of a decision of sloth – to not do something – wherein we refuse to change a bad situation out of fear despite having all the facts. This is how learning experiences become terminal punishments, bad relationships become bad marriages, and poor job choices become lifelong prison sentences.
Timothy Ferriss in The 4-Hour Workweek
III.
Goals are for losers. Your mind isn’t magic. It’s a moist computer you can program. The most important metric to track is your personal energy. Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success. Happiness is health plus freedom. Luck can be managed, sort of. Conquer shyness by being a huge phony (in a good way). Fitness is the lever that moves the world. Simplicity transforms ordinary into amazing.
Scott Adams in How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
Articles Worth Reading
I.
Why Doing Good Makes It Easier to Be Bad
Abbas Panjwani | Nautilus
You might wonder how people who seem so good by occupation could be so bad in private. The theory of moral licensing could help explain why: When humans are good, it says, we give ourselves license to be bad.
II.
Don’t have a single purpose or passion? That’s OK
Cleo Wade | TED Ideas
People will tell you to find your purpose. They will tell you to find your passion. We are all such multilayered beings with an abundance of gifts, talents, interests, and ideas. Why are we putting the pressure on ourselves to have one purpose or one passion? We all grow and shift so much in our lifetime. Who’s to say that your purpose in your twenties isn’t going to evolve into something else in your thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond?
III.
Evolution Made Really Smart People Long to Be Loners
Sarah Sloat | Inverse
Intelligence is believed to have evolved as a psychological mechanism to solve novel problems — the sort of challenges that weren’t a regular part of life. For our ancestors, frequent contact with friends and allies was a necessity that allowed them to survive. Being highly intelligent, however, meant an individual was more likely to be able to solve problems without another person’s help, which in turn diminished the importance of their friendships.