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Category: Thinking Clearly

Anti-Perfectionism

Published on September 10, 2021

Perfectionism doesn’t beget perfection.

If anything, perfectionism begets hesitation and disappointment—over and over again.

For every time you look close—another flaw, wrinkle, fault presses itself forward and prevents you from acting or feeling in the desired way.

And as long as perfection is the standard, disappointment will continue to be the byproduct.

Why? Because perfection is the antithesis of being human—we are anti-perfect creatures.

We’re filled with flaws, wrinkles, and faults that are constantly pressing themselves forward into the forefront of our minds.

They demand our attention and are constantly reminding us of the paradox of our situation: imperfect creatures fighting to become perfect.

And so we hesitate. We feel disappointment. We fill with anguish.

Until, of course, we don’t.

Until we align with our nature rather than fight it. Until we fill our minds with acceptance rather than inadequacy. Until we stop seeking perfection and start embracing what’s imperfect.

Until we finally choose to become anti-perfectionists.

Facilitating The Successful And The Fools

Published on September 5, 2021

Let’s not forget: fools can say and do things that provide value—and highly successful people can say and do things that are dumb .

Don’t let your overall perception of a person define how you think about everything they ever say and do.

Accept and challenge each statement and action in its own right—free of your predispositions and past judgements.

Be the person who can admit when they are acting out of character—both in good ways and in bad.

It’s incredibly easy to do the opposite. But, being the person who can admit when a person is acting out of character, may very well be the facilitation they need.

What Causes Your Effects?

Published on September 3, 2021

You cannot have an effect without a cause.

Your actions are an effect.

If you don’t like your actions: look closer at what’s causing them.

The real cause(s) might not be as obvious as you initially think.

You might be short towards a coffee shop employee because you didn’t get a good night sleep.

Or you might be short towards a coffee shop employee because of a grudge you’ve been building towards a loved one—which inadvertently has been causing you to lose sleep and your temper.

Being proactive in understanding your causes is the secret to having more clearly understood effects.

Like You Mean It

Published on September 3, 2021

Back up. Chin up. Eyes straight ahead.

When you speak? Speak loud and clear.

Presentation is important. Delivery is important.

When you do these things, the exact same words said in the exact same context hit completely differently.

And your words, the ones you so carefully chose, will stand to reach their full potential.

What a shame to see them end up otherwise.

Care-More-Ness

Published on September 1, 2021

Freedom doesn’t come from care-less-ness (doing what you want, when you want to).

Freedom comes from care-more-ness (doing what you should, when you know it’s time to).

Because while it’s true that you are free to do whatever you want, you are NOT free from the consequences of those decisions.

Go ahead and rob a bank—you’re free to try. But, that’ll be the end of your freedom for a while.

Only those who care-more earn the type of freedom that allows them to do what they want, when they want to.

  • The more you care for your body, the more free your movement becomes.
  • The more you care for you mind, the more free your thinking becomes.
  • The more you care for your relationships, the more liberating those relationships become.

And so it is for the opposite of the above mentioned examples.

But, what about vices?

Caring more for drama, drugs, and distractions definitely doesn’t lead to freedom. Which is why caring more is about prioritizing the things you know you should be caring more about. Things like having vulnerable conversation, experientially living, and thinking deeply.

A destination that ends with more freedom, never starts with less caring.

Update And Expand

Published on August 24, 2021

Applications will only do what they’re programmed to do.

A dictionary application that’s programmed to pull up a certain word when it’s searched for—will only do that.

And so it is with your mind.

A mindset that’s programmed to pull up a certain response when it’s presented with a certain problem—will only do that.

This is why language is essential—it is literally the means through which programs are updated. Both in applications and the mind.

HTML, for example, is a language used by developers to design how web page elements (hyperlinks, text, media, etc) are displayed on a computer browser.

Imagine if the first iteration of the language—that was developed and released in 1991—was still the language we used today?

Can you remember what web pages looked like from the 1990’s?

Well guess what? That’s what your mindset looks like when you never update your thinking language either.

Sick of thinking about a problem the same way over and over? Stop using the same language to try and solve it.

Update and expand.

Unplugged or Plugged In?

Published on August 23, 2021

When your device is unplugged, the battery will drain. Plug it in and it’ll charge.

The opposite seems to be true for the mind.

When your mind is unplugged—from devices, work, drama—the battery recharges.

Plug it in to one of those things, however, and the battery will drain.

If you find your mind in a nonfunctional state, maybe it’s not because you’ve been plugged in too long—but, because you haven’t been unplugged enough.