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- think straight
I seem to be on a reading spree right now.
I’ve devoured 4 books in the past 2 weeks lol.
(one of them was Chetan Bhagat, don't judge me)
One of these was Think Straight by Darius Foroux.
Very short book, 78 pages. Flew through it in one go.
Really liked the book, though. Concise, straight to the point with practical advice.
Most books on the topic of ‘stop overthinking’ I’ve read are full of fluff, boring shit. ‘Beating the same dead horse’ stuff.
"Just be present"
"Keep a gratitude journal"
"Take deep breaths"
"Go for a walk in nature"
"Have you tried yoga?"
🙄🙄🙄
But this book had some really solid insights.
One main concept really stuck with me, which genuinely helped:
pg 33, “Inside your control vs outside your control“
Every type of useful thought should only be of two types:
Active problem solving - And no, I don’t mean made-up problems; problems that haven’t even happened yet; problems that aren’t even a problem yet.
Internalising and applying knowledge - Putting stuff you learn from books, videos, newsletters (like this) to actual use.
These are the only 2 types of thoughts that are productive and actually move the needle.
I mean, how does thinking about the past help?
Unless you are reflecting on past decisions and mistakes so you don’t repeat them, anything other than that is mental clutter.
Even romanticising the future.
It hasn’t happened yet.
It might never happen.
You are just beating yourself up over something that may never happen.
As Seneca famously said,
“We suffer more in our imagination than in reality.”
I suggest reading the book. It’s 78 pages, so if you’re a fast reader like me it shouldn’t take more than an afternoon to breeze through it.
A lot of practical content, stuff you immediately apply.
I really liked how he had hand-drawn visuals throughout the book to better convey the message and I gotta say, it worked:
One of my favourite sketches, can heavily relate.
This sketch above was under a chapter titled ‘Life is not Linear‘.
Darius talks about how he’s always thought life is linear:
“I always thought in a linear way: A leads to B. And if B is C, A also leads to C.
I looked at appearances, first thoughts, and made a lot assumptions. But my thoughts didn’t serve a useful purpose. In fact, they served no purpose at all. Instead of thinking, I followed convention. I let others do the thinking for me. Most of us are like that.”
I honestly thought that too when I decided to pursue running a business. I’m like “okay, if I do X for Y time, I get where I wanna be, easy.“
But then reality reveals the actual path.
It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. It’s not at all the comfort you see in those IG success stories and YT videos.
You think it’d bring you more freedom, I can attest to that: it’s a lie.
If anything, you become busier since there are 101 things to do, and you’re alone in this.
You don’t know what works and what doesn’t, so you throw shit on the wall until something sticks.
There are so many detours that no one talks about. There will be some steps you will have to take that aren’t directly moving you forward.
“One step forward, 5 steps back” types.
Your thinking and beliefs keep changing with real validation. “Going back to the drawing board" becomes more than just a phrase.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to scratch everything I thought I knew to be true, just to reset and try a whole new approach.
But it does have its good sides, like the first time you make money on the internet.
It feels surreal that someone thinks you provide so much value that they willingly exchange their time and money for you.
That’s what you do it for.
And a bonus if you like to solve problems all day. New, different problems are being hurled at you from all directions.
Anyways, there’s my two cents for this week.
Read the book, let me know by replying to this email or DM me on IG @dialedin.beehiiv
I read and reply to everything.
Wishing you the best of weeks.
Remember: Stay hydrated. 💧
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