Your Level of Thinking Is No Better Than The Knowledge Accessible In Your Brain

The information in your head is the only knowledge your brain relies on to make life-changing decisions, judgements and build a life.

If your level of thinking suffers, chances are you are sabotaging yourself unconsciously. The good news is, it’s not too late to upgrade your knowledge, mental models and the information you need to make informed decisions.

So, if you feel unsatisfied with life, upgrade what you know — this will automatically upgrade your thoughts and thinking.

To make better life-changing decisions, fill your mind with high-quality inputs. The act of discovering and learning relevant content (with the intention of adding value to your store of knowledge and a strong bias for personal growth) is one of the valuable skill of this century.

In the age of abundance of information, the importance of establishing the right personal information spectrum cannot be overemphasized.

We live in different times of information abundance. It’s never been easier to access and quickly absorb trivial and irrelevant information.

Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “What is important is rarely urgent, what is urgent is rarely important.”

The bitter truth is, it doesn’t matter how much information you feed your brain. If you don’t stretch its main functions or improve your existing thinking models, your brain won’t take you very far.

As Albert Einstein once said: “Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

Many people continuously feed their brains with the same low-quality content but expect a different or better output when they make decisions. We each have the power to change the direction of our lives by altering our inputs and actions.

What we consume on a daily basis — our inputs — holds a disproportionate amount of influence over what we think, how we feel, and how we behave.

To change your outputs, improve your inputs. Absorb information that stands the test of time — better and great books, courses, podcasts, documentaries, videos, articles, posts and content sources.

The overwhelming reality about life and living it is this: we live in a world where most things are worthless and very few things are exceptionally valuable and improve or make us better. As John Maxwell once said, “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.

Your input determines your output

The quality of your inputs (content sources) determines and predicts your output — habits, character, attitudes, beliefs, and results.

Everything you allow into your life through all your senses — input — is eventually processed as output.

If you expect a different output, start analysing your inputs. Invest your time on inputs that move your life forward and help you flourish and motivate you to take meaningful actions towards your goals.

At a micro-level just by looking at your daily habits, you can find plenty of examples where Pareto’s 80/20 rule applies.

80% of value is achieved with the first 20% of effort. 20% of the people who are close to you influence 80% of your attitude and perception. In business, 80% of profits come from 20% of customers and 20% of products. 20% of posts published by writers generate 80% of their traffic.

When you start to analyse and break down your life into elements it’s very easy to see 80/20 ratios all over the place. The message is simple — focus on improving the 20% of your content consumption and your thinking process can significantly change for the better.

In the current age of distraction, input sources make an even bigger difference, not just to our thinking processes but also in our performance at work. Reviewing how you consume content (spend your time and energy) is one of the most important things you can do to improve how you think.

Don’t look for what you need at a place that doesn’t have it — if your content sources are not helping you to upgrade your knowledge, move on and find better options. Reduce distractions by unsubscribing from sources that don’t serve your long-term interest.

Double up on the best content from thought-provoking writers, leaders, and influencers. Find out what they read/watch/listen to — you can find that information on their blogs, Twitter feed, or LinkedIn page.

Apps like Pocket, Blinkist and Instaread can help you access the best resources to improve your mind. Newsletters are also ideal to receive information that’s relevant to you. When you open them, you want substance.

Seth Godin, Eric Barker, Shane Parish, James Clear, Adam Grant, Ryan Holiday, David Cain and Maria Popova, Jocelyn K. Glei, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Nat Eliason, Polina Marinova, Morgan Housel, Lawrence Yeo and David Perell are a few of the sources of my content for better knowledge for life and career success.

Be selective, then expand your focus to learn more from your content sources. You are what you consume. Our brains are great at making random connections but that requires the right balance between input and output. So help yours do its job by feeding it right.

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Essays of the week:

Micro Habit Stacking: 25 Small Changes To Improve Your Life — ”A small action daily is infinitely better and more impactful than a massive change you can’t sustain. It’s also a realistic and attainable way to teach your brain healthy habits.”

Experiential Learning Creates Skill — The Power of Active Practice — “Better learners are active learners. They practice what they learn. The application of knowledge creates skill. When you make learning an experience, you acquire skills for life.”

To our common journey,

Until next week,

Be Epic!

Thomas

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