Clay

Random Walk Newsletter, Issue 08#

Observations & Insights#

1. Recently, I have slowly begun to appreciate the benefits of consistent reading. Here's what happened: the day before, I had just finished reading the book "The Arrogance of Elites." Coincidentally, the next day in a newsletter, I came across this article by Xiang Biao and Michael Sandel: The Illusion that the Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get. While reading the article, it felt like I had already previewed it. In addition to the viewpoints of the two professors, I also gained a small piece of knowledge. Professor Xiang Biao used the analogy of a hummingbird, and my first reaction was, why a hummingbird? Can't other birds work? Later, I looked it up and found out that hummingbirds are small in size and can hover in the air by rapidly flapping their wings (70 times per second). This analogy is used to illustrate that we cannot afford the cost of stopping ourselves.
2. Also in a newsletter, I read an article written by Hua Jie about ten years ago: Transmission of Light. From Hua Jie'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: one time 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 fruit. 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, after doing something, they are mostly criticized, then 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:
   1. The most effective way of learning is to not make judgments when you don't have the ability to judge, but to fully accept and gradually digest. If you can't absorb it, it will naturally be rejected.
   2. "When interacting with others, there are two prerequisites: first, believe that the other person is a good person, and second, understand that the other person is an ordinary person. If they are a good person, they will inevitably 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."
   3. One time when we were drinking tea, I casually mentioned the concept of a closed-loop in business 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 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 intention, to achieve a closed-loop of the mind. In this way, we no longer judge everything based solely on good or bad, success or failure."
3. 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 aspect of my interpretation. Regarding the second half of the sentence, the book or movie that you spend a few hours reading or watching took the author two years to produce. 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?
4. 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 some 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 a bit like chicken soup, but I want to share the key point mentioned in it: the role of goals. 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 roles of a goal is that it becomes our information filter. 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. What can you do? You can only ignore some information, and goals can serve as filters for information, preventing our attention from being occupied by other 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 seems faster, even though the distance is the same. This is because when we return home, the goal is clear, and it automatically filters out the useless distracting information.

The author also mentioned his understanding of flow, using the concept of "deep present." The author said 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, please feel free to email me. Thank you for reading.