Learn to honor your mind and body
It’s time to be amazed!
Each book you read leaves a mark on your life. Whether it is a quote you like, a new realization that hits, or a piece of knowledge that you discover. Such is the power of books.
How to become a successful entrepreneur? How to overcome shame? How to find peace in today’s world?
The following books will answer the questions above and more, leaving their imprint on your life.
The accuracy of split-second decisions.
Malcolm Gladwell informs us of the immense power of our mind.
We make automatic decisions a lot of times. He calls this ‘thin-slicing’.
“The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding.”
The author discusses the fact that we tend to think we can make the right decision by spending enough time and effort on it.
That is simply not the case. The decisions made in split seconds are good, sometimes even better than those that we think a lot about.
These ‘thin-slice’ decisions are not perfect though. They are affected by our likes, dislikes, and stereotypes that we hold.
“We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.”
This book will teach you to honor the first thought that enters your brain while keeping the possibility of errors open.
Life lessons from an astronaut.
If you haven’t figured it out, Chris Hafield is an astronaut. After three spaceflights, he wrote his memoir.
He shares stories from his life as an astronaut. He also offers us many insights from his experiences that non-astronauts can apply to their life.
“Loneliness, I think, has very little to do with location. It’s a state of mind.”
The author didn’t feel lonely in his space travels. He says that people in big cities can be lonely. In space, he felt connected to all the seven billion humans on Earth.
Hadfield gives us the path to success.
The astronauts have to be prepared. The space shuttle, the special suits, everything has to be on point to make a space mission successful.
He tells us to prepare by working hard and practicing. And even after all the preparedness, we must be ready to fail.
“Early success is a terrible teacher.”
When luck helps us win without preparation, it fools us. The author says that in such a case, you don’t know how to prepare because you didn’t do it in the first place.
Shame. What are we missing about it?
Connection is the most important part of being human. We need other people to survive.
But, we are embarrassed about our shortcomings. We don’t want to be judged.
This is what Brené Brown discusses in her book. She opens our eyes to the power of vulnerability and how we can benefit from embracing it in our whole lives. She also tells us about why we don’t become vulnerable.
We are ashamed of our flaws.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity.”
We can never be perfect. We have to make peace with being good enough. And when we do so, we become ‘wholehearted’, says Brown.
“The willingness to show up changes us, It makes us a little braver each time.”
One of my distant relatives passed away some time ago. I still haven’t been able to call her relatives. Every passing day, I feel like a fool. It would be too late to offer condolences.
But is it? Perhaps I just have to accept that I am not perfect. I am just ‘good enough’ to call late. All I need to do is to be brave and show up.
This book will raise your self-esteem and help you be comfortable with yourself.
In the world of copy-cats, be an original!
Who is an Original?
Someone who is open to risk and pursuing alternatives. These people bring about change.
The author wants us to be one of them.
“Procrastination may be the enemy of productivity, but it can be a resource for creativity.”
He informs us of the various strategies that originals use to make their idea successful.
One of them is ‘strategic procrastination’. The original takes an idea, gathers feedback, and waits for the right time to unleash it.
“Entrepreneurs who kept their day jobs had 33 percent lower odds of failure than those who quit.”
To become an original, you don’t have to risk everything in your life.
Grant tells us about all the successful ventures, whose founders didn’t let go of their previous commitments. Google founders didn’t drop out of their Ph.D. Steve Wozniak (inventor of Apple I) continued his job at Hewlett-Packard.
The same is the case for many creative minds like filmmakers and musicians.
This book is a must-read for all aspiring entrepreneurs.
The battle in our mind.
This book discusses the battle of thoughts that exists in our brains.
According to the author, bad thoughts are from Satan. Satan uses lies to make us feel bad for ourselves.
With the mention of God, Jesus, and scripture, this book’s primary targets are Christians.
“One God-honoring thought has the potential to change the trajectory of both history and eternity.”
Allen also gives many faith-based exercises that can help people overcome the negative thoughts in their brains.
He discusses feelings such as shame, cynicism, and distraction.
“So what is the one thought that can successfully interrupt every negative thought pattern? It’s this: I have a choice.”
This quote reminds me of the first time my intrusive thoughts sent me to a therapist.
The therapists told me one simple thing. Thought is a thought. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Practicing Christians or spiritual Christians can benefit a lot from this book.
Your dream of a happy, healthy life is about to become a reality.
‘Ikigai’ is ‘reason to live.’
We are in a hustle to know more, do more, and achieve more. Having an ‘ikigai’ helps us slow down and savor the moments that life offers us.
“Life is pure imperfection…”
Life is imperfect. Once we accept that, we will be at peace.
“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.”
The grand essentials of happiness in this book remind me of the three sources of life’s meaning that Victor Frankl mentioned in his book, ‘The Man’s Search for Meaning.’
Through this book, we meet the Okinawans who have long lives.
Their secret?
Eating healthy, having friends, and exercising.
It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
We have the key to living longer and happier through this book. It’s up to us to apply it.
Connecting back with our bodies and souls.
Using stories, Ryan Holiday imparts us the one sure-shot way to save us from being overwhelmed.
Embracing stillness.
We have a lot to do and a lot to look at. From our phones to hundreds of commitments, we are no longer in control of our lives.
“Stillness is what aims the archer’s arrow. It inspires new ideas. It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections.”
We can still find the calm we crave so much. By living in the now. By learning to be still.
How?
Holiday tells us to take up journaling and spend time in nature. He also tells us to choose positive emotions.
“The less energy we waste regretting the past or worrying about the future, the more energy we will have for what’s in front of us.”
It’s true, we can’t enjoy anything if our mind keeps wandering to the past or the future.
Move over minimalism, essentialism is here.
I think Mckeown’s concept of essentialism is a sweet spot between hoarding and minimalism.
He tells us to say no to everything. Unless… It is essential.
“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”
Every action of our life is inherently a trade-off. It’s up to us to make the right ones.
Do we really need to pick up the phone to read that lame text message while spending time with family? Do we need to buy a fancy outfit when we already have many?
“Essentialists see trade-offs as an inherent part of life, not as an inherently negative part of life.”
By being more mindful of the tiny decisions we make throughout our day, we will deepen our connections and honor our bodies and minds.
“Sleep will enhance your ability to explore, make connections, and do less but better throughout your waking hours.”
For example, instead of seeing sleep as a waste of time, see it as a performance-boosting action.
This book is truly a needed one in modern times.
Now is the right time to prepare.
The above books focused on the human mind and body. The last two will focus on the minds we are creating. Yup, artificial intelligence.
“We know that blind evolutionary processes can produce human-level general intelligence, since they have already done so at least once.”
Evolutionary processes created intelligent beings aka humans. What will the genetic process do if intelligence is guiding it?
It’ll probably achieve it faster.
Bostrom predicts the superintelligence boom and resulting struggles. What will happen to humans? What if AI turns against us? Can we control it?
He discusses all this and gives suggestions to plan early. This is so we can save mankind from the harm that might be coming our way.
I like the fact that Bostrom admits his limitations.
“Many of the points made in this book are probably wrong. It is also likely that there are considerations of critical importance that I fail to take into account, thereby invalidating some or all of my conclusions.”
With a wide range of topics, all AI enthusiasts will enjoy this piece of writing.
AI, friend or foe?
Max Tegmark is a co-founder of the ‘Future of Life Institute.’ This organization focuses on the existential threats faced by humans and ways to circumvent them.
It only makes sense that he would write a book on one of the biggest existential threats facing humans. The rise of Artificial Intelligence.
Tegmark starts by distinguishing between Life 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.
“None can live for a million years, memorize all of Wikipedia, understand all known science or enjoy spaceflight without a spacecraft.”
Humans are life 2.0. Superintelligent robots will be Life 3.0
The author discusses the history of AI, the advancements, and the current projects.
What will happen when a superintelligent being can upgrade its software and hardware at a super pace?
Tegmark thinks the biggest issue will arise if its goals are not aligned with the goals of humankind.
An interesting book that will teach you a lot about the modern tech realm of artificial intelligence.
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