I am more upbeat than many of the people I’ve spoken with recently. This is true, even though in many cases, my expectations for the post-coronavirus future are more pessimistic than theirs. I’ve seriously entertained some pretty dire outcomes, but instead of letting...
How Naming the Emotion Can Tell You Why You’re Going Nowhere
It happens to all of us. You decide your priority, you sit down to work on the project, and for one reason or another you go nowhere. Maybe you're not doing the work — you're resisting it. Or maybe you're doing it, but slogging along without much to show for your...
Becoming More Productive by Testing the Rule of Six
"The key to being productive is to stick to the six most important things you need to get done that day," says Chet Holmes, author of The Ultimate Sales Machine. Why six? Holmes argues that this makes the list short enough that you can be sure to complete the list. He...
How a Central Purpose Fits Into Your Real Life in the Real World
In the last article, I described a central purpose as a long-range productive goal that is stylized and utterly selfish. I gave a few examples of how different people in the same profession could have significantly different passions. And I argued that everyone, from...
The Alexander Technique
By far, the primary influence on my work is Ayn Rand. Her philosophy infuses my entire approach and underlies all my conclusions. One important secondary influence is F.M. Alexander, the inventor of the Alexander Technique. The Alexander Technique is training in...
Three Observations About Accepting Facts
Realists point out that if you want to live in the world that exists, you need to accept facts. Idealists point out that you can change the world that exists — if you take the appropriate action. These two perspectives needn’t conflict.
Guilt Trip
Guilt Trip Background This is one of a series of tactics that helps you get back on track when you've lost a day or so due to some kind of emotional distress. These tactics help you critically evaluate the situation to identify false premises, old baggage, and...
Deja Vu All Over Again
"How did I wind up here again?" We've all had the experience: a bad situation keeps repeating itself. Maybe it's a confrontation with a particular person that keeps coming up and going badly. Maybe it's the feeling of being overloaded by routine administrative work...
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Sign up for Thinking Directions Update Each week (or so) Jean Moroney sends a fresh article along with updates on free and paid programs she has available. You can also read and comment on past articles on the Thinking Directions Blog. All the articles on this...
The Active Mind
There are three kinds of actions that mark a person as having an active mind. 1. You look beyond the obvious options and the obvious explanations to make sure you've got the full picture. 2. You do the introspective work to make your own values explicit, especially...