I read books in a way that makes them all heavy. Every single sentence is examined for a potentially life changing insight or nugget of information. It borders on insane, and makes reading way more difficult than it has to be. But it’s an investment. Because most stuff, when I come at it with the right mindset, actually can be life-changing. This is the style I apply to everything I consume (except podcasts for some reason) – maximal extraction....
In the physical realm, if one is traveling at speed X in a specific direction, and the direction is immediately changed to a perpendicular direction, instant death occurs even at low velocity. That’s how much a change in direction means. If the new direction were 180 degrees opposite from the original direction, the threshold gets lower. In the mental realm, we’re constantly changing directions, and the less related a new direction is, the more jarring it feels....
There’s usually not perfect alignment between what’s right, and what’s easy. They’re usually far from opposite though! Taking a little time to figure out the best compromise between right and easy can pay extreme dividends as they compound over the years. And right isn’t the same as perfect, either.
Knowing the rules of the game seems like an indisputable prerequisite for winning. We’re used to systems with rules. The rules govern behaviour and limit potential outcomes to a manageable level. Systems with rules are easy. Systems with known rules are extremely easy. Most of life has no rules, and of the parts that do, most of the rules are unknown. Finding a rule that most people don’t know is a huge competitive advantage, and there’s a presumably infinite space to explore to find the rules....
My tiny brain LOVES the dopamine kick that comes out of winning virtual games and achievements. That might mean getting to level 80 in WoW, dominating the galaxy in an empire builder game, or getting all equipment upgrades in a FPS. They all work. And allll the little steps and unlocks on the way work as well. Most of the time, playing those games nets me only stupid prizes. However, every so often, I’m able to cage the mind in a positive reward loop – to gamify something that’s actually helpful....