thinking
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Thinking things through
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2 min read
What we’re thinking of right now often feels of the utmost importance. Negative thoughts, in particular, turn passive onlookers into nervous inward-facing participants. The face twitch, lip biting, short breaths, full-bodied elsewhereness — says it all. The nerves light up like a Christmas tree, flaring internally on a rollercoaster of emotions. The brain gets stuck…
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Chords of inquiry
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1 min read
We remain emotionally uneven, driven by the vagaries of an electronically-fueled world tilted toward bad news. The external glow messes with our internal wiring, where even the illusion of reprieve bears zero hope. Yanked out of our public selves into private accountability, how do we cope with the torrent of life’s clutter? Facing reality is…
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Putting a dent in persistent novelty
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2 min read
Novelty is the sugar of our existence. It’s what keeps us coming back for more. And technology is at the center of its stickiness. Information is a click away; Twitter and Instagram offer more curated entertainment than we could ever access. The internet never ends with each refresh, like pulling the lever at a casino…
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Enjoy the silence
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1 min read
Silence is the loudest sound — unprovoked, it can screech worse than nails on a chalkboard. But the pursuit of distraction is man’s attempt to escape the cacophony of a deaf monkey mind. To break from mental prison, we conjure up an oasis of sound: social media and/or TV, dual screens, infinitely scrolling through feeds…
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Without a positive doubt
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1 min read
Thinking is the process of juggling with active uncertainty. Thinking is hard because it requires the mind to search for clarity in a sea of indifference. The mind impedes itself, as it’s the source of all the information we seek to find. It is nearly impossible to control; the brain elides into a blob of…
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Head to head
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1 min read
Two people live inside our heads, one left-brained and analytical and the other right-brained and more free-flowing and creative. Together, the two opposing cognitive forces work in harmony. There’s also a part of the brain that spaces out and permits the subconscious to connect the dots. The mind works like a dishwasher amidst sleep and daydreaming, cleaning…
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Creativity: Faith in process, faith in rest
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2 min read
Rest is integral to unlocking creativity. Your best ideas come when you’re not trying to grind it out, but when you’re not trying at all. Ideas hit you when your mind is at ease. Says composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda: A good idea doesn’t come when you’re doing a million things. The good idea comes in…
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How the mind designs itself
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1 min read
We are always making predictions about our future. When we infer, we ignite consciousness. Within the complex system of our neurocognitive wiring comes transparency we can’t explain. The external world processes through a symphony of brain loops. Thinking is on a mission to remain consistent, predictable, while wildly variable. To err is to make strides.…
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Turning problems into opportunities
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1 min read
Opportunities and problems go together, often masked as one of the same. It’s your perspective that determines how well you exploit this dialectic. It’s always easier to play the role of a pessimist. Bad thoughts are typically stickier than good ones. Optimism is harder to produce. However, when you look at your challenges with a…
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How to mirror the beat of our heart
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2 min read
It seems that in preparing to live up to our best selves, we often fail to follow the very advice we give others. Dizziness caused by the freedom of indecision goes at odds against reality. So we jump at the quickest cognitive register — whichever requires the least effort. Everyone seems to have a clear…
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Don’t hold that thought 💬✒️
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1 min read
When in doubt, speak up. Talking is a tool for excavating thoughts—microphone in hand or not. It’s only after the speaking occurs do the words begin to flow. The same goes for writing. One doesn’t need an audience in order to do it. The movement of the pen gears the brain into motion so that…
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Thinking is hard
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1 min read
People don’t like thinking. It’s painful. Just as numbering denotes page numbers, we have to get our brain cells to assemble in an attempt to establish some order. There’s a reason why there are so few philosophers and so many people attending entertainments. Consumption is our default setting. It is easier to sit back and…