You should be lying more
If you don't trust me, trust Anthony Hopkins
Today’s brain buzz:
Sam’s snoring usually just annoying. This time, though, it causes panic and terror. Why?
Answer at the end of the email.
Short update:
First of all, at the moment I’m writing this, there are 399 people subscribed to Lateral Thinking with only 7 newsletter sent (including this one). That’s mental.
Thank you all for the support and shares, it’s truly an inspiration to keep going.
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Back to our usual show.
Fuck the rational mind.
Recent media portrays hyper rationalists as the be all end all for humanity. The people who don’t “fall prey to emotion” and that can make a rational decision no matter the context are to be praised and glorified.
Sure, there is SOME drama *cough* Bezos *cough* around the subject, but if we’re being honest, lack of emotion, at least in recent years, has increasingly become a quality rather than a defect.
I’m not gonna open Pandora’s box on this one, but I am going to invite you on another train of thought:
Being rational with yourself is the dumbest thing you can do.
Be rational in business. Be hyper rational when it comes to saving money, buying a house, investing, hell, be rational when it comes to relationships.
But be less rational with yourself.
Here’s why: rationally speaking, you’re nothing. We are all. Most of our achievements come from a combination of good luck, timing, privilege and some hard work.
Our actual, personal merit is probably less than 10% whereas the rest is simply spinning the universal Russian roulette and catching a break.
Simply put, no matter how hard you try or how tough you are, you’re ultimately a victim of events outside of your control (not gonna get into fatalism just yet, don’t start putting your philosopher panties on).
That’s the rational mind speaking. And it’s right. But being right is rarely enough.
The problem with all that I’ve said is that if it’s true (and technically, it is), it’s useless. It will ultimately lead you to two potential conclusions:
Some nihilistic trip ending in “nothing matters and we’re all just a spec of dust anyway”
No matter what you do there’s always a better decision to be made with a better outcome to be had, so you’ll just freeze up and hyper rationalize everything
Which is why I bring you this thought:
Rationally speaking, we should limit our rationality.
Lie to yourself. Anthony Hopkins says it beautifully:
Whatever you want to do, believe it […]. Even if you don’t believe it, play the game of belief. Act as if you believe it. That is power.
Set irrational objectives. Believe you can achieve them. There’s few rational reasons you shouldn’t manically lie to yourself.
Of course, you might fail. You probably will. But even if you do, you’ll be way further ahead than people stuck playing games with their rational mind and always losing.
So lie to yourself. Let yourself believe.
For Anthony Hopkins fans, here’s a lengthier article on the subject. The man’s an international treasure.
Answer: Sam is a bus driver.