#1: more empathy, less judgement
What’s on my mind
It’s easy to think the outcome of every situation should be binary.
You either win, or you lose. Fail or succeed. Stay or leave.
This all-or-nothing mentality gives us a sense of direction. A sense of where the spectrum begins, and where it ends.
It, however, takes away the opportunity to consider other countless possibilities in between. Or see all the colours that are neither black nor white.
This week’s ideas
👓 Less judgment
There’s so much wisdom in this special episode of the Knowledge Project podcast with Daniel Kahneman on motivation, clear thinking and negotiation.
He comments that the point of educating people in psychology is to make them less judgmental, and more empathetic and patient. “Being judgmental doesn’t get you anywhere.”
📝 68 bits of unsolicited advice
Kevin Kelly recently turned 68. And he celebrated it by sharing 68 nuggets of wisdom. They range from the importance of taking power naps to hiring for aptitude (over skills).
Also, “being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.”
🎧 Why do we listen to new music
I hadn’t thought about this question before and the title of this article made me ponder. The part that clicked was the necessity to discover new music, “because it could be the new artifact that exclusively defines this moment for you.” Particularly during these uncertain times.
Eventually, we bow our heads and cross a threshold where most music becomes something to remember rather than something to experience.
🧘🏽♀️ Meet your future self
I tried this life-visioning meditation, and it worked—I really did meet my future self. And every time I did it again, I discovered a new side of him. Don’t let the initial breathing part bore you; stick with it to the end.
🛤 What puts you back on track?
Have you experienced moments of flow as though you’re investing your time and energy on the right thing? Have you thought about what those moments have in common?
Final thought
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
—Aristotle