22 Resilient thinking, attaining wisdom, and mini-rituals

No. 22 – 5 May 2023

Welcome to the 22nd edition of 4-TP, a weekly newsletter with the actionable insights you need.

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Based on our readers' feedback, we decided to switch things up again. If you have any thoughts, let us know.

Article

Critical thinking is a key part to being resilient because without it, we're prone to panic, making impulsive decisions, or becoming overwhelmed by the situation. Three simple Socratic techniques help prevent that.

— Read more​

Quote

Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher, on attaining wisdom:

"To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day."

Insight

There's nothing like waking up in the morning knowing you have a challenging day ahead. Whether it's an important presentation or a meeting with your boss, the anxiety can hit you hard and stay with you up until you need to perform.

The next time you have a stressful day looming ahead, you can create a mini-ritual for yourself. World-renowned chess master Josh Waitzkin uses mini-rituals to bring him back to his ideal performance state of focus and full engagement.

A mini-ritual can include 3-5 simple things you do, like splashing your face with water, doing sprints an hour before showtime, push-ups, deep breaths, and so on. An important part of this is to release the pent-up energy stored in your body.

Question

Quitting can seem painful, especially if it's something you're not programmed to do.

But sometimes, quitting is the best option if the data is telling you to change course. Have you recently quit something, and looking back, do you think it was a good decision?

Till next week,
— Carlos & Stef