07 Negative feelings, level 2 thinking, and emotional aspirin

No. 7 – 20 January 2023

Welcome to the 7th edition of 4-TP, a weekly newsletter with the actionable insights you need.

If you’d like to share this newsletter via text, social media, or email, just click here then copy and paste the link from your web browser.

TPL Article

Contrary to common belief, you can channel negative emotions and thoughts to help you transcend and live to your fullest potential.

— Read more​

Insight

Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and considered one of the greatest writers of all time, on receiving feedback:

"Man will only become better when you make him see what he is like."

Micro Thought

We all have internal stories we tell ourselves and they affect our thinking. Psychologist and NY Times bestselling author Daniel Kahneman describes the human mind as using two basic modes of thought. System 1 thoughts are typically fast, automatic, and effortless, not introspective by nature. System 2 thoughts are slower, deliberative, and require more attention and introspection.

System 2 thoughts allow for better decision-making and problem-solving and can be reached in part by regulating our emotions and rewriting the old stories that no longer work for us.

Question

Harvard psychologist Susan David highlights the two most common ways people deal with emotions: bottling or brooding. A bottler pushes emotions to the side and tries to get on with things. A brooder obsesses over emotion(s) and stews in their misery. Both are short-term emotional aspirin. Are you one of them?

Till next week,
— Carlos & Stef