Brain Food – No. 535 – July 30, 2023
Timeless ideas and insights for life. (Read the archives).
Insight
The power of curiosity in problem-solving.
“[Problem solving] has to do with curiosity. It has to do with people wondering, ‘What makes something do something?’ And then to discover, when you try to get answers, that they’re related to each other. The things that make the wind make the waves, and the motion of the water is like the motion of air, [which] is like the motion of sand.”
— Richard Feynman
TKP
Part two of Dr. Julie Gurner dropped this week, and like the first episode, she was a fountain of wisdom. Here are a few lightly edited insights that stood out in ep #2.
Tiny Thought
Contrary to what we’re led to believe, clear thinking is often the result of the position you are in at the time of the decision.
Even a genius looks ordinary if circumstances force them into a bad position.
The best position themselves to win before the game even starts. Tom Brady couldn’t show up on Sunday and perform if he didn’t put in the reps first. By studying film, eating healthy, stretching, and practicing, he puts himself in a position to win. It’s not just sports, the best in business do the same thing.
An underrated element of doing your best is the position you are in when you need to perform.
History is littered with successful people who positioned themselves to win and took advantage of the storm.
You can position yourself to win no matter the circumstances. There is always something you can do to improve your current position.
Eating well, saving money, sleeping, preparing for your next job, taking on more responsibility at work, removing people from your life who drag you down, reading and learning, etc.
When you master your circumstances, every path is a winner. When your circumstances master you, things quickly go from bad to worse.
Over a long enough time horizon, positioning beats predicting.
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Etc.
The Resourceful Life
“I used to think of resourcefulness as a kind of practical intelligence, but I’ve recently started thinking of it as a combination of an energy state, an attitude, and an unexamined philosophy.”
— Source
P.S. Oddly fascinating.