Solitude: How to achieve Mental Clarity
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
When was the last time you were bored? The last time you spent time by yourself without any outside input? No music, no podcasts, no social media, no text messages, nothing. Just you and your thoughts.
We've cultivated a society where we all live in a state of constant distraction. Jumping from one distraction to another builds a sense of underlying anxiety. In-decision, overwhelm and what-ifs cloud our judgment leading to the existential dread that we're not doing enough. That we're not enough.
So few of us have the mental clarity we need to make an impact. We have the talent, enthusiasm, and determination but we don't know what we want out of life.
What is it we're trying to do? Why are we trying to do it?
Without clear answers to these questions, everything else becomes more difficult.
Instead of making consistent progress in one direction, we jump from one thing to the next in the hope that we stumble upon the right thing for us.
The first step to making meaningful progress requires you to know what you want. Without that, you will always be second-guessing your decisions. You'll lack the motivation to consistently work at something and never benefit from long-term compounding interest.
Gaining the mental clarity you need isn't just something that happens. There's no on-off switch, it's a continuous process. Something that you work at and refine over time.
You need to cultivate the right environment to gain mental clarity through learning, executing, and reflecting. Each area is essential to reaching a stage where you have a clear and focused state of mind. Where you know exactly what you want and how to get it.
Two Ideas from Me
I.
“Only one story matters. The one you tell yourself.”
II.
“Mental Clarity comes from spending time alone with your thoughts.”
This Weeks Finds
I.
How Does It Feel to Get Everything You Ever Wanted? (Article)
This post is a really good look at how you should find the things you'd do without getting paid because external accomplishments don't change anything.
"We all think some external accomplishment is going to change everything, but it never seems to. It doesn’t change how you see yourself, it doesn’t change how you go through the world, it doesn’t change what you feel like when you wake up in the morning."
II.
How to turn 35 cents into a serendipity engine (Video)
It's strange how rarely we do small things that would spark joy for other people. In this video, Khe Hy talks about how he uses postcards as a catalyst to creating serendipity and making others happy.
In the book Company of One Paul Jarvis talks about and example of sending clients gifts. Sending small personalised things like chocolates or a postcard/letter is so easy to do and has a huge effect on people. This is something I'm going to start doing.
III.
The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts (Book)
I've been reading a lot about mental models this week. Mental models are an explanation of how something works.
Concepts and frameworks that you carry around in your head aimed to help you understand life. All mental models are imperfect but can help you make better decisions.
This book is a great introduction into mental models.
End Note
If you enjoyed this edition of the Sunday Filter then I’d love it if you could share it with a few friends. You can send them over here to sign up.
Have a great Sunday,
- Stephen