A member of the Thinking Lab asked me for advice on how to decide whether to join a small startup or stay with his very successful, stable, lucrative job at a large company. Let’s call him Max. Max had done a lot of thinking about his choice, but he still had some nagging doubts. People […]| Thinking Directions
If you want to do creative work at a high level, you need to spend significant time developing your skills. There is no substitute for practice. Some people would say you need self-discipline to develop the skills. Others would say you need self-control to put in systematic effort. I use neither of those terms because […]| Thinking Directions
Mental overload is the #1 obstacle to thinking. Whether it’s too many things to think about, too many emotions to give you space to think, or too much complexity to untangle in your head, it is THE problem. Indeed, what distinguishes humans from animals is that we have more mental abilities to deal with overload. […]| Thinking Directions
In this series on happiness, I have distinguished short-term pleasures and temporary joys from true happiness. To be in a state of true happiness, you need to gain your values every day, week, month, and year. This requires not only that you accept facts of reality, but that your values be consistent with one another, […]| Thinking Directions
Our general topic has been happiness. We now get to the essential issue: can you make yourself happy? The answer is yes — but not by a direct process. You cannot guarantee existential success, nor can you predict your future emotions or your exact future circumstances. But you have indirect control over your own happiness. […]| Thinking Directions
I put together the top ten thinking tactics I teach: The Thinker's Toolkit: How to Focus Your Thoughts for Action and Other Thinking Tactics| Thinking Directions
