Random Walk Newsletter, Issue 08#
Observations & Insights#
- Recently, I have gradually begun to appreciate the benefits of continuous reading. Here's what happened: I just finished reading the book "The Arrogance of Elites" the day before, and coincidentally, the next day I came across an article in a newsletter titled "Xiang Biao × Michael Sandel: The Illusion that the Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get". While reading the article, it felt like I had previewed it in advance. In addition to the viewpoints of the two teachers, I also gained a small piece of knowledge. Professor Xiang Biao used the metaphor of a hummingbird, and my first reaction was, why a hummingbird? Can't other birds do the same? Later, I looked it up and found that hummingbirds are small in size and can hover in the air by rapidly flapping their wings (70 times per second). This metaphor is used to illustrate that we cannot afford the cost of stopping ourselves.
- Also in a newsletter, I read an article written by Sister Hua about 10 years ago, titled "Transmission of Light". From Sister Hua's experience, I also realized that courage is really important sometimes, or rather, overthinking can cause us to miss many opportunities. Speaking from my own experience, I have suffered from being too timid. This may be related to my childhood experiences. Let me share a memorable incident: once at my grandmother's house, there was a jujube tree in the yard. Many children about the same age as me climbed up to pick the fruits. Then my mother came over and asked me why I didn't go. I said at the time that I didn't want to, but deep down, I knew I was afraid of being criticized. Children are curious about everything and will try everything, but if they are criticized most of the time after doing something, they will become cautious in doing other things. The article is long, but I have excerpted three parts that touched me, and I would like to share them:
- The most effective way of learning is to not make judgments when you don't have the ability to judge. Fully accept and gradually digest. If you can't absorb it, it will naturally be rejected.
- "When interacting with others, there are two prerequisites: first, believe that the other person is a good person; second, understand that the other person is an ordinary person. If they are a good person, they will naturally have a need to do good and be good. If they are an ordinary person, their emotions and consciousness will inevitably have a side that is changeable and unstable. When interacting with others based on these two prerequisites, you will naturally transcend and be open-minded, and you will also have the ability to get along with others."
- One time when we were drinking tea, I casually mentioned the concept of a "closed-loop" in corporate management. The senior monk heard this term for the first time and asked me seriously, "What does it mean?" I briefly explained the PDCA management cycle, but unexpectedly, he immediately said, "Hmm, interesting. In fact, we monks also need to talk about a closed-loop, which is a closed-loop of the mind: managers talk about tasks, and monks talk about intentions. After doing something, we need to return to our original intentions, achieve a closed-loop of the mind, and no longer judge everything based solely on good or bad, success or failure."
- Psychologist and author Adam Grant on criticism: "Criticizing is easy and fast. Creating is difficult and slow. The two hours you spent on a book or movie usually took two years to produce." I won't explain the literal meaning of this sentence, but I'll share another interpretation. Regarding the second half of the sentence, the book or movie that you spend a few hours reading or watching usually took the author two years to create. So, reading is really worthwhile. In just a few hours, you can gain the experiences, insights, and wisdom that others have accumulated over several years or even decades. Is there anything more worthwhile than this?
- This week, I actually encountered some work-related problems and felt that I was being treated unfairly. But there's nothing I can do. There are things that I can't control, and even if there are problems, I am powerless. I'll just adjust slowly. I think I'm feeling better than yesterday.
Audiobooks & Books#
Crossing the Impossible
The title of the book sounds like a motivational quote, but I want to highlight the concept of "the role of goals" mentioned in the book. We often set goals for ourselves, such as the popular OKR, which is a combination of a goal and several key results. The author believes that one of the most important functions of goals is that they become our information filters. Experiments have shown that the brain can process about 126 bits of information per second. For example, when you are talking to someone, you need to process about 40 bits of information. This means that if three people are talking to you at the same time, the information becomes overloaded and you can't process it all. What can you do? You can only ignore some information, and goals can serve as filters for information, helping us avoid being occupied by irrelevant information.
The book gives an example, which may or may not be appropriate. When we go from home to an unfamiliar place and then return home, we often have a feeling that the return journey is faster, even though the distance is the same. This is because when we return home, our goal is clear, and it automatically filters out the useless distracting information.
The author also talks about his understanding of flow, using the concept of "deep present." The author says that once you enter a state of flow, you can no longer distinguish between the past, present, and future. This is closely related to whether we can make significant breakthroughs. Therefore, the author suggests that if you want to do something, you should focus on doing it. Overthinking is the biggest enemy of entering a state of flow.
That's all for this issue of the newsletter. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Thank you for reading.