What's a thinking tool or method that is useful and practical that you've benefitted from and can share?
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80/20 Pareto principle I tend to think of quite a bit.
Approx. 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. That helps to focus/prioritize. So many times we get lost in details, or the thing that just came up, or the thing that one person is shouting loudest about. However, it's important to focus on the things that have the biggest impact first, and then go down the list as needed.
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Contradict yourself
Think of something and take it apart by attacking every aspect of it
Not only helps with solidifying, but also on another level to actually take criticism and use it as an improvement of yourself and your pointIt also Sometimes results in a change of view
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Always invert. When you're thinking about any problem, try to figure out how you can make it worse, then make really sure you avoid doing that.
Want to be happy? Find out what makes you sad and if you can avoid it.
Want to lose weight, how do people who try to gain weight go about it?
Want to convince someone of something? How do you go about making sure they will dig their heels in?
Need to carry a couch up a flight of stairs? How do you break you back and pinch your fingers?
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If it's worth doing, it's worth half-assing. Don't get caught in the details of trying to do something perfectly if it would benefit you more to do it at all.
I like this summarized as "don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough."
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Always invert. When you're thinking about any problem, try to figure out how you can make it worse, then make really sure you avoid doing that.
Want to be happy? Find out what makes you sad and if you can avoid it.
Want to lose weight, how do people who try to gain weight go about it?
Want to convince someone of something? How do you go about making sure they will dig their heels in?
Need to carry a couch up a flight of stairs? How do you break you back and pinch your fingers?
I guess this is the model that governments are using these days to try to figure out how to save democracy
Figure out first how to destroy it .. then you can know how to save it
But I think they're going a little overboard in the first half of that process
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A smart man always knows what to say, a wise man knows when not to say it.
It's the life equivalent of typing out a comment only to then delete it and move on.
Just because you know something, or know a better way, doesn't mean you have to tell everyone. That mental exercise plays into my other tool: Let them.
Let them be wrong, let them fill the silence they created, let them get bent out of shape, and let them try to figure it out. Sometimes, they'll get to where you already are; other times, they'll figure out an approach you didn't even consider, or you'll realize that you were the one who was wrong the whole time. Let people be people. Listen, look, learn, and then, when you're ready, when it's needed, lead.
Oh, and don't give people answers to questions they didn't ask. They're less likely to listen to you. When they're ready for the answer, they'll ask.
It was tough not to delete this comment, but I'll let the paradox stand as is.
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ChatGPT
wrote on last edited by [email protected]That's a not-thinking tool. You're not thinking when you use it, and it doesn't think at all.
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Think you might be wrong
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You get better at something by learning and practising. Sounds so dumb and simplistic and obvious, but it amazes me how difficult people find it to truly accept and internalise this.
Shit at cooking? You can improve.
Shit at talking? You can improve.
Shit as a friend/spouse/parent? You can improve.
Shit at reining in your emotions? You can improve.
You could literally practice to be a funnier person if you wanted.
I guess this is now popularised as "growth mindset".
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This post did not contain any content.wrote on last edited by [email protected]
Repetition .... and repetition in multiple formats
Repeat what you want to remember
Repeat inside your thoughts
Repeat it out loud (either to no one or to someone nearby)
Repeat it with action ... point, touch, move or just handle the thing or object related to what you want to remember
Repeat it by writing ... write it down and note itThen do the same things again and again ... eventually over time, these things will get ingrained in your thoughts and actions.
Some processes take time to remember (like playing an instrument) but others take less time (like where are my damned keys!)
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This post did not contain any content.wrote on last edited by [email protected]
divide and conquer
in all your different situations
it's a massive mental force when you apply it and make mundane chores a battle worth victory!
As ut goes, even though you're always going to have a war to fight make the little battles more rewarding
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Contradict yourself
Think of something and take it apart by attacking every aspect of it
Not only helps with solidifying, but also on another level to actually take criticism and use it as an improvement of yourself and your pointIt also Sometimes results in a change of view
Careful with this one. When you have ADHD, it can lead to talking yourself out of almost everything
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Careful with this one. When you have ADHD, it can lead to talking yourself out of almost everything
Well
Its kind of a Hobby at this point -
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Mnemonics. Crazy powerful memory tool, stupid easy to use. Take a couple of seconds to imagine wild, surreal images around whatever you wish to remember. You'll remember that thing forever. Crazier the images, better. Often, you won't even remember that you used mnemonics in the first place, you simply remember.
Say you meet a guy named Mike. Imagine Mike choking down a giant microphone. Scott? Imagine him with a Scotty dog head. Funny enough, it works backwards. "Hi! I'm Scott. Just imagine a Scotty dog head every time you see me!"
Say you want to remember to bring a thing with you when you leave the house. Imagine that thing pouring out of your front door in a flood, tripping and stumbling over all those goddamned water bottles or whatever. You might not even remember firing off the mnemonic, but you'll remember the water bottle!
I learned about this reading a book 30-years ago. It promised you could easily recall all 50 American states, in alphabetical order, within 20-30 minutes, or less if you're practiced.
Alabama: Grinning, toothless redneck hammering his sister who's stuck in a washing machine.
Alaska: Imagine that redneck piloting a monstrous baked Alaska with laser beams, poised to destroy the capitol.
Arizona: Now that floating baked Alaska has turned into a dried out husk in a dry desert valley.
You get the idea. Chain ludicrous images together. All you need is the first link. Same principle as a memory palace.
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95% is sometimes better than 100%.
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Every day, without fail, I think of three things for which I am grateful. A reminder fires on all my devices. I don’t dismiss it until I’ve completed the task, whether that’s early in the day or not until the evening. Keeps my outlook healthy cause I’m a pretty cynical person.
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A smart man always knows what to say, a wise man knows when not to say it.
It's the life equivalent of typing out a comment only to then delete it and move on.
Just because you know something, or know a better way, doesn't mean you have to tell everyone. That mental exercise plays into my other tool: Let them.
Let them be wrong, let them fill the silence they created, let them get bent out of shape, and let them try to figure it out. Sometimes, they'll get to where you already are; other times, they'll figure out an approach you didn't even consider, or you'll realize that you were the one who was wrong the whole time. Let people be people. Listen, look, learn, and then, when you're ready, when it's needed, lead.
Oh, and don't give people answers to questions they didn't ask. They're less likely to listen to you. When they're ready for the answer, they'll ask.
It was tough not to delete this comment, but I'll let the paradox stand as is.
Appreciate this one, thanks for not deleting
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Highly recommend this book "Mind Hacks" https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/mind-hacks/0596007795/
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You get better at something by learning and practising. Sounds so dumb and simplistic and obvious, but it amazes me how difficult people find it to truly accept and internalise this.
Shit at cooking? You can improve.
Shit at talking? You can improve.
Shit as a friend/spouse/parent? You can improve.
Shit at reining in your emotions? You can improve.
You could literally practice to be a funnier person if you wanted.
I guess this is now popularised as "growth mindset".
Learning the growth mindset in my early 20s drastically changed my life for the better.
