Every few years, I re-read How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein. This little book helps me answer a crucial question: “What is the best use of my time right now?” Figuring out the answer can be difficult, particularly when I undertake new projects. It takes fresh thinking to challenge old […]| Thinking Directions
Paradoxically, celebration and mourning* are similar processes. They involve similar steps and achieve similar purposes. And they are similarly misunderstood and neglected, despite their critical importance to a joyful life. Neither celebration nor mourning concerns an emotional experience per se. Their essence is that they involve strengthening your own values. I will explain this first […]| Thinking Directions
What determines your productivity on a day-to-day basis? The effectiveness of your thinking. The more effective your thinking:[…]| Thinking Directions
If you’ve followed my work, you know I’m an advocate of “Thinking on Paper.” You can watch this 3-minute video explaining “thinking on paper, or read a short write-up on it here. People often ask when they should use “thinking on paper” to speed up their thinking. Like physical leverage, mental leverage entails a tradeoff. […]| Thinking Directions
The Thinking Lab is a membership program for ambitious people who believe their own mental skill is critical to help them rise to new challenges. They seek skills for developing: clarity, creativity, decisiveness, emotional resilience, and self-motivation.| Thinking Directions
Working out your central purpose is one of the most selfish things you can do. It has the biggest effect on your future and your happiness. It’s not a quick process. If you already have a general direction but need to clarify the personal significance for yourself, you may be able to sort it out […]| Thinking Directions
In my previous article, I argued that you need to motivate all action by reference to values rather than threats. I explained how you justify the goal in terms of values before you act and then stay focused on gaining values while acting. In this article you will see how a value orientation makes a difference after you […]| Thinking Directions
In a previous article, I explained that your motivation to act results from the interaction between your present awareness and your value hierarchy. A value hierarchy is a psychological structure consisting of all of your values, interrelated with one another. Some of the connections are strong, some are weak. Some are direct, some are indirect. VIewing […]| Thinking Directions
