Category: by Jason Kong

We should always give props to those that try to do the right thing, regardless of what actually follows.

That includes ourselves.

Anticipate the more damaging scenarios and have a plan for dealing with them. Then move forward, because there will always be uncertainty.

The right amount of fear prepares you for what you must do, but doesn’t keep you from doing it.

Driving to your destination will almost always save time over walking or riding a bike. But taking your car means losing the opportunity of getting exercise and fresh air, while being less friendly to the environment.

When it comes to efficiency, we often focus on the benefits more than the costs. That seems to be particularly true with technology. We like to celebrate advances in productivity, not dwell on any trade-offs.

More convenient isn’t always better, and believing that’s true is a trap. It’s up to each of us to understand and be willing to pay the costs before accepting an innovation to be part of our lives.

And even if we believe cars are a net positive, you don’t always have to drive.

The Pareto Principle says that 80% of an event’s output comes from 20% of the input. I would not be surprised if mastering fundamentals is the 20% that drives effective learning.

But before you can become good at the fundamentals, you first have to know what they are.

If you’re lucky, the learning modality you choose emphasizes the core principles before anything else. A good teacher, book, or course can help make that happen. That’s ideal.

For the most part, identifying the fundamentals is less straightforward. Perhaps they won’t be obvious, or worse, not covered at all. As a beginner, you can’t easily make these distinctions.

That’s why for me, domain proficiency begins by doing some pre-work. I’ll do internet research searching for the foundational ideas or skills in my area of interest. I compare the perspectives of several experts, from multiple sources. I don’t need consensus. I need a better idea of what matters most.

Figuring out the fundamentals early is my favorite learning strategy.

We live in a world where the bottom line is king.

If you win the game, hit the target, or deliver the goods, then we often overlook how you got there. The result owns the spotlight.

For those who fell short, having their good effort recognized is the consolation prize.

We often take this approach with kids. “Hey, maybe it didn’t work out, but at least you gave it your best shot.” It’s a technique to keep someone’s spirits up.

There’s nothing wrong with making a person feel better, of course. But if we truly want to help someone we need to be consistently evaluating effort — regardless of what happened at the end. After all, you can have good effort and bad results. You can have bad effort and good results. We need to acknowledge what kind of intention was driving the action.

Doing the hard work and mustering the needed courage are hallmarks of success. They don’t guarantee the outcome you want, but there may be no bigger factor to tilting the odds in your favor. That’s worth focusing on.

Effort deserves its own spotlight.

I once read somewhere that an important driver of creativity is solitude. I think that’s true, at least for me.

I’m not saying you can’t be creative while doing something else. Good ideas can come from anywhere and at any time.

But to develop my thinking on something, to allow my brain to noodle around a topic, I need space.

That means shutting off inputs and distractions. No people and no urgencies vying for my attention. And definitely no internet, the worse offender of all.

I find the process of creativity isn’t about walking a well-defined path. I often start by thinking about a particular idea or problem I want to solve, but I don’t get to the end by trying to hit a series of predetermined milestones. Instead, I wonder. I’m curious. I play. I allow my mind to go into different directions. Sometimes that wandering takes me completely off-topic and I have to steer myself back. But eventually, I’ll hit upon insights that are interesting, relevant, and gets me excited.

None of this would would have been possible if I didn’t clear the decks and isolated myself. Having enough space to think is one of my daily priorities.

This saying bothers me, because it’s often used as a discussion killer. There’s no comeback. The numbers are the numbers, as long as they’re accurate.

But of course, in practice, we rarely are arguing about whether the truth of the numbers themselves.

Instead, we’re arguing about their interpretation, or whether they provide the full picture. We’re debating their relevance, or the degree of impact. These are the types of conversations we should be having.

If we’re tempted to dismiss dissension by saying “numbers don’t lie,” perhaps that’s a strong clue we should dig deeper to ensure the numbers mean what we think they mean.

The story we tell ourselves about what happening in the world is literally our reality.

This explains how two people can perceive the same thing completely differently — whether the glass is half full or half empty, for example.

Knowing you have the ability to choose your perspective can be an uncomfortable realization. It means you’re less justified for blaming others, or circumstances beyond your control. You have the power to change your experience, right now.

The internet has the powerful ability to amplify ideas.

We have terms like “viral” describing high levels of popularity. And many of us are obsessed with hitting that huge number of clicks or shares to show that we, too, got noticed. At least until the next big thing captures our attention.

That’s one way to cause change.

Then there are the publishers who uses digital media deliberately and consistently. Quality posts, videos, or podcasts on a regular schedule. Nothing necessarily earth-shattering in a single shot, but an impressive body of work accomplished over years.

That’s another way to cause change. Quite possibly with a lot of impact.

Bit by bit.

This article is an example of why I worry about information consumed from the internet.

First, there’s the headline: “15-year UC study finds alcohol more effective than exercise for long life.” Click-worthy, right? Whether you’re inclined to believe the findings or not, at the very least you want to know more.

The article says that according to the study:

Those seniors who drank one or two glasses of wine or beer each day were 18 percent less likely to die prematurely.

Comparatively, those who exercised between 15 to 45 minutes a day were similarly less predisposed to die prematurely, but only 11 percent less less likely.

Sounds fairly conclusive, right? Concrete numbers from a study on aging. But wait! If you weren’t reading closely, you would have missed this nugget from the article:

At a conference in Austin over the weekend, [one of the lead researchers of the study] said she has “no explanation” for her finding, but she “firmly believe(s) that modest drinking improves longevity.”

In other words: while there seems to be a relationship between drinking some alcohol and living longer, we don’t know the details. There’s not enough information to conclude that modest drinking improves longevity. Other than the lead researcher’s opinion, that is.

Critical thinking skills are more important than ever when consuming the news these days. Accepting any information at face value is risky.