I had an interesting conversation the other day with a Thinking Lab member who has hated his job off and on for a long time and wants to do something constructive about it. The key word here is “constructive.” People “hate” all kinds of things: the culture, how their families treat them, organizations they disapprove […]| 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
Happiness is the Fuel of Achievement| 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
I aim to teach people to think clearly and logically about value-laden issues. As a means to this end, I exhort my Thinking Labbers to identify “deep rational values” [Footnote 1] at stake in every confusing situation. This is critical to your short- and long-term happiness. This term is introduced in the class on “Emotions […]| Thinking Directions
In the most recent article in this series on happiness, I mentioned that the next topic would be embracing causality. To be happy, you need to understand the causal factors that contribute to your present emotional state so that you can enact the causes that will create your future happiness. First and foremost, this means […]| Thinking Directions
In the previous article in this series on happiness, I argued that it is important to your happiness that you fight suffering, that you develop skill at minimizing it. I then gave some practical advice on how to mitigate suffering: say “no” to overload, don’t be afraid of mourning, and campaign against chronic pain. Those three […]| Thinking Directions
