There’s so much valuable information to be learned when you approach the world with an open mind. When you are curious and willing to be wrong, wisdom accrues.

 

Too many of us are calcified into opinions that we defend with all our might. We have little interest in changing our minds because we identify with our opinions. Our egos are on the line.

 

Our egos depend on us being ‘right’ so we feel threatened by any suggestion that our cherished opinions could be incorrect.

 

We defend our opinions with gusto and we are not open to being proven wrong. This means we neither learn nor grow. We remain defensive, angry, and ignorant.

 

People often stew in their incorrect opinions for years and even entire lifetimes.

 

If you hate being wrong you are probably coming from a place of ego. You may care more about seeming ‘right’ than you do about actually finding the truth. This mindset is debilitating, unpleasant, and unattractive.

 

So do yourself a favour and keep an open mind. And remember that on many issues… you’re probably wrong!

 

Avoid Ideological Tribes

 

Humans enjoy being part of a team or tribe. This often leads us to join ideological tribes. The Alt Right, socialism, feminism, MGTOW; these are all ideological tribes.

 

This is dangerous because we end up rooting for our tribe and defending an idea as if it’s a sports team! When we are part of an ideological tribe we have a closed mind.

 

When we are in an ideological tribe we want our tribe to win. We ignore or rail against opinions or facts that contradict our tribe’s opinion. We become more interested in our tribe winning than in getting to the objective truth.

 

The Dangers Of Confirmation Bias

 

When we are ego-invested in an opinion confirmation bias kicks in. We only notice evidence in the world that backs up our opinion. We fail to notice (or deny) evidence that contradicts our opinion.

 

The Thrill Of Having your Opinion Changed!

 

But freeing yourself from ego-attachment to your opinions and ideological tribalism is well worth the effort. Being open-minded and intellectually free is a nirvana that we should all be aiming for.

 

Making the same mistakes, again and again, is extremely frustrating. But unfortunately, it’s something most of us do to some extent. In order to stop repeating the same mistakes, we must learn to fail forward.

 

It is very satisfying to finally put a bad habit to bed, to grow wiser and improve. For this reason, optimizing wisdom-acquisition is crucial.

 

Gleaning lasting wisdom from our experiences is a very worthy goal.

 

Here is how to fail forward – how to learn from your experiences.

 

Decide Consciously That You Want To Fail Forward

 

Make a conscious decision to view the world as a classroom in which you are constantly learning. With this mindset every experience, good or bad, is valuable.

 

Decide to have a mind that is wide open, hungry for new lessons. Don’t be blind or stubborn. Be willing to change your mind when your experiences prove your ideas to be wrong.

 

Constantly update your models and ideas about the world. A more rational understanding of the world will always alleviate pain. Accurate knowledge is power. The truth will set you free.

 

With this mindset, ‘unpleasant’ experiences such as rejection and failure become wonderful learning opportunities that you can actually enjoy.

 

Consciously deciding to learn from your experiences will allow you to build an accurate map of reality slowly but surely as you move through life.

 

Journal

 

“And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things – childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves – that go on slipping, like sand, through our fingers.” Salman Rushdie.

 

When you write about an experience you gain a much better understanding of the experience. Through writing, you make connections, see patterns and gain a deeper understanding.

 

For these reasons, journaling enables you to wring maximum wisdom from your life experiences.

 

Affirmations

 

We need to be reminded of certain truths again and again. Some helpful truths are counter-intuitive and don’t occur naturally to us.

 

Most of us have many bad habits of thought. We tend to believe stories about the world that are not true.

 

In order to change our bad thought habits we often need to remind ourselves of helpful truths repeatedly.

 

We are not designed by natural selection to be happy necessarily.

Far too many of us are self-obsessed.

 

Self-obsession is an epidemic in the modern world. New technologies and the comfort of modern life give us too much opportunity for self-obsessing.

 

Self-obsession is a trap it’s all too easy to fall into. And it can bring us great harm.

 

Self-obsession is painful. It breeds worry and provokes narcissism and anxiety. A self-obsessed life is a stressful, exhausting life.

 

Self-obsession is a straightjacket that can prevent us from being our happy, spontaneous best-selves.

 

Most of us would benefit from being less self-obsessed. The less self-obsessed we become, the freer we become.

 

Here are 8 ways to be less self-obsessed.

 

Learn About History

 

Learning about history teaches us perspective. Our little worries seem so petty when compared to the hardships humans suffered throughout history.

 

Tragedy and brutality were the norm in human history. Deeply understanding this allows us to put our self-obsessive thoughts into perspective.

 

A great example of compelling history content is the Hardcore History Podcast by Dan Carlin.

 

Other subjects that can provide us with a healthy dose of perspective are physics and astronomy.

 

Contemplating history, the cosmos, or nature allows us to see how insignificant our self-obsessions are. In seeing this, we become free.

 

Become a Parent

 

Becoming a parent makes people less self-obsessed. Animal instincts kick in and a person becomes far more interested in their child’s well-being than in their own.

 

People can certainly be parents and yet remain self-obsessed. But caring for a child will usually (and ideally) necessitate at least some reduction in self-obsession.

 

The same effect can come from caring for any dependant, such as an adopted child, an old or vulnerable person, a pet even.

 

By putting the wellbeing of others above your own, and taking responsibility for others, you can learn to be less self-obsessed.

 

Volunteer

 

Volunteering for a charity can make you less self-obsessed. Working with people who are less fortunate than you can give you some much-needed perspective.

 

Apply to volunteer with a local charity… keeping old people company, feeding the homeless. Volunteer in whatever way speaks to you.

 

With the new perspective that volunteering will give you, self-obsessing will seem pathetic.

Who Is Warren Buffett?

 

Warren Buffett is the world’s most famous investor. His investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns billions of dollars worth of shares in American and international businesses. All these things should tell you that he has a lot of things to teach you. So listen up for Warren Buffets 25/5 technique and learn something profound!

 

Warren Buffett’s unique expertise has earned him billions. His net worth is approximately $90 billion. The shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway have also gotten very wealthy thanks to Buffett’s precocious wisdom.

 

Warren Buffett Wisdom

 

Buffett is known as the ‘Oracle of Omaha’. His oracular wisdom is much sought after. Millions of people want to know how he makes such remarkably lucrative investment decisions.

 

Buffett’s style of investing is called ‘value investing’. He looks for quality companies that are priced cheaper than their fundamental value. When he finds a suitable company he buys a ton of their shares with the intention of holding them for the long term. Warren Buffett is not a short-term investor looking to make a quick buck.

 

Warren Buffett has built an almighty empire. At the age of 88, he has a mountain of wisdom to share. Millions of people around the world hang on his every utterance. His disciples mine his writings for nuggets of golden wisdom they can incorporate into their lives.

 

Why Should We Listen To Warren Buffett?

 

Buffett’s wisdom is so sought after because he has proven himself to have exquisite judgement again and again over a 70-year career.

 

He values learning above all else. And he has implemented his learnings so incredibly effectively.

 

Buffett’s yearly letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders is a document that the world waits eagerly for every February. The Buffett letter always provides deep financial insights.

Jocko Willink is a retired US Navy SEAL and the author of several books. His list of inspiring books includes Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win and Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual.  Jocko Willink preaches the value of extreme accountability.

He has always been a responsible and disciplined person. But he learned most of his methods for holding himself extremely accountable while leading SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser in the Battle of Ramadi in Iraq. The Battle of Ramadi involved fearsome close quarters fighting. The responsibility involved in leading a SEAL Team in this environment was immense.

 

Jocko Willink – extreme accountability will change your life.

 

In all of Jocko’s writings and podcast episodes he encourages us to hold ourselves accountable for literally everything that happens in our life. Whether we initially seem to be at fault for something or not, there is always a host of things that we could have don’t differently. We can always do better.

 

Taking Full Responsibility Gives Us Power

 

Holding ourselves accountable means taking full responsibility. Taking responsibility for what happens in our lives gives us power; power in our own lives and power over how we conduct ourselves.

 

This means taking responsibility for our own emotions, thoughts, words, and actions in the lead up to an event. And for our emotions, thoughts, words, and actions during and after an event. There is always something different we could have done. There are always ways in which we can learn and therefore improve in the future.

 

Self-help media can be very… self-helping. For somebody who has never read a self-help book, their first reading can be a revelation. Even people who’ve read lots of self-help can benefit from a top-up every so often.

 

Self-help is a genre that contains lots of wonderful advice and information. But like in any genre, there is also plenty of lower-quality content.

 

Some self-help is trite, cheesy, and overflowing with pseudoscience. Some self-help content is riddled with lies. Big promises that can never come true are often utilized by authors to make a buck. Self-help authors are trying to sell products, and many are willing to tell lies for money.

 

As a self-help consumer, it is crucial to be discerning. Do not fall for lies or false promises!

 

Believing self-help lies can seriously hamper your progress in life. It can give your irrational expectations and desires. It can make you feel self-loathing for not progressing as fast as you’ve been told you should.

 

Here are the 6 biggest lies in self-help.

 

You Must Change Your Situation to Be Happy

 

In many ways, happiness is a choice.

 

“I’ll be happy when I change x, y, z in my life” is a harmful belief. Your life situation will never be perfect.

 

Your life situation will always include negative elements, stresses, strains, and problems. You do not need to have all of your ducks perfectly in line, and a life devoid of troubles, in order to be happy! You can be happy now even with an imperfect life and plenty of problems.

 

Life will always give you lemons, and when it does… make lemonade!

 

Awareness Destroys the Ego

 

Unless you are a Buddhist monk who has spent the last several decades meditating in a cave, you have

Bodybuilding is a pursuit that requires dedication and consistent effort over a long period of time. There are ups and downs, trials and tribulations. You go down blind alleys and take wrong turns. Your motivation ebbs and flows and you find out what makes you tick. You learn what works and what doesn’t. You have your ego paired down and you get humbled.

 

Bodybuilding teaches you wisdom that is applicable to other areas of life. Showing up consistently to pay your dues in the weights room makes you a better version of yourself.

 

Here are 9 life lessons that bodybuilding teaches us.

 

1. Don’t Aim For Perfection, Aim For Consistency

 

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be.” Consistent, good effort is more effective than Herculean but inconsistent, sporadic effort.

 

2. Slow Progress… is Still Progress

 

Progress is often so subtle as to be INVISIBLE to the naked eye. But even when progress is invisible, if you are working hard, you are making progress. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. Big leaps forward often seem to come out of the blue. But the truth is you were making progress all the time. It was just too subtle to notice. Have faith in your system.

 

3. Deep Knowledge Will Expose Charlatans

 

The internet is infested with charlatans and snake oil salespeople. Gaining a deep knowledge about something through consistent practice and effort will make you wise. It will open your eyes to when you are being lied to.

 

4. Set Achievable Mini-Goals

 

It’s far easier to stick to a long-term task if you can see regular incremental results. Setting achievable mini-goals will keep you on course.

 

5. Find a Good Teacher

 

A good teacher is extremely important, especially at the beginning of a process. Bad habits are very easy to pick up. Learning good technique before you have a chance to develop bad habits can make your journey to greatness much smoother.

 

6. Break Bad Habits. Think Outside the Box

 

Plateaus are often caused by us being (unconsciously)

Celebrities Behaving Badly

 

Conor McGregor is a charismatic celebrity who is prone to bad behaviour. He recently rounded up a bunch of his mates and attacked a bus carrying UFC fighters in NYC. The mob broke one of the bus’s windows and caused injuries to some people on-board. McGregor is currently on probation for his crimes.

 

Attacking a bus and attempting to assault people is dickish behaviour by any standard. Conor McGregor has a giant ego, is prone to violence, breaks laws and hurts innocent people. And yet his fans still adore him!

 

Conor McGregor is a classic ‘charismatic asshole’.

 

‘Civilians’ Behaving Badly

 

It’s not only celebrities who behave badly and get away with it. Many mere lay people indulge in bad behaviour and get away with it due to their charisma.

 

Many lay people are ‘charismatic assholes’ also.

 

Do You Let Your Friends Off Too Lightly?

 

Do you have charismatic friends who are not actually very nice people? Are you in a friendship with a ‘Conor McGregor’; a fun person who’s actually kind of a dick? Do you have friends who behave badly but whom you let off because they’re fun? Do ‘charismatic assholes’ make good friends?

 

What Do You Look For in a Friend?

 

It’s not uncommon for charismatic people to be quite egotistical and self-centered. This can make them behave in selfish ways. This can result in them not being there for you when you need them.

 

Often the most loyal and decent people are not all that charismatic or fun. Loyal, dependable people can be less charismatic and risk-taking.

 

We Often Choose People Who Are Bad For Us

 

It can be tempting to choose to spend our time with people who are charismatic but not decent. It’s fun to hang out with charismatic people. So we are often willing to look past the less admirable traits of charismatic people.

 

Loyal Friends VS Charismatic Assholes

 

Certainly, many fun people are also good and loyal. But in many cases, a choice will need to be made. When faced with a choice between charisma and goodness, what will you choose?

 

What Trade-Offs Are You Willing To Make?

 

Life is all about trade-offs. We make trade-offs every day, with every single decision we make. And friendships are no different.

 

No person is perfect. And everybody that you choose to spend time with will be imperfect in some ways. Some people will be more fun than others. Some will be more loyal and supportive than others.

 

Neglecting Good Friends

 

How To Deal With Stress

 

We all have to deal with stress on a regular basis. Stresses, both small and large, accost us daily.

 

Imagine, for example, a very typical scenario.

 

You get paid your monthly wages. You’ve earned enough to finally get you out of debt, and now you are excited to start saving. But the next thing you know your laptop dies! You bring it to the shop and they tell you it will cost £500 to repair. That’s practically all of your excess wages! So much for starting to build your nest egg! Darn!! If only you’d been more gentle with your laptop! Fiddlesticks!!

 

Have you ever experienced a stressful situation like this and let it get you down? Have you ever found yourself racked with painful emotions of anger, regret, rage, or acute frustration when you suffer a setback?

 

Wouldn’t you prefer to be able to take stresses and strains in your stride? And to not get overly emotional when life throws you a curveball?

 

You can become a great deal happier, calmer, and less stressed by reading ‘The Chimp Paradox’ by Professor Steve Peters.

 

A Simple Book on Human Psychology

 

Professor Steve Peters is a consultant psychiatrist for Liverpool FC and the England football team. He has written a very simple and straightforward book. But it’s a book that contains some incredibly powerful wisdom.

 

Initially ‘The Chimp Paradox’ seems almost too simple. It is written in extremely plain English that even a 12-year-old could understand. ‘Civilisation and Its Discontents’…. it is not!

 

But it is its simplicity that makes ‘The Chimp Paradox’ so impactful.

 

Here are 3 lessons from ‘The Chimp Paradox’.

 

There is a ‘Human’ and a ‘Chimp’ in Your Brain

 

There is a human and a chimp inside your mind. And each is vying for control.

 

Your ‘human’ refers to your prefrontal cortex. This is the part of your brain that allows you to be logical and rational, to make sense of the world. To judge things accurately and unemotionally.

 

Your ‘chimp’ refers to your limbic system and the more ancient features of your brain. The parts that chimpanzees also have. (Hell, some of these parts are so old that even

I Want to be Happy

 

Happiness is something we all seek. But it’s also a difficult concept to pin down. What is happiness? Is it an emotion? A state of mind? A thing you do? A habit you choose to develop?

 

Some people believe happiness is found through a life of hard toil and achievement. Others seek their happiness primarily in hedonic pleasures. Many people attempt to find happiness by living a life of balance. How we aim for happiness varies from person to person.

 

While happiness is hard to define, most of us experience a feeling we could describe as ‘happiness’ from time to time.

 

We know the feeling we are aiming for, even if it is hard to pin down with words.

 

How to be Happy?

 

While happiness comes easily to some people, to others it can prove elusive.

 

Certain behaviors seem to reliably improve happiness levels, whatever a person’s starting point. We can all adopt these behaviors that will tend to increase our aggregate feelings of happiness.

 

This suggests that happiness is a feeling but also something we do. And we can work to improve our happiness levels.

 

Certain habits reliably seem to push happiness further away from us. Habits like abusing alcohol, being sedentary, or holding grudges reliably make us less happy.

 

Other habits seem to increase the amount of happiness we experience. Nothing works for every person, all the time. But journaling, socializing, and exercise seem to increase happiness most of the time, for most people.

 

Here are 6 novel habits that increase happiness.

 

Look Your Best

 

“Dress like the person you want to be.” – Jordan Peterson.

 

Groom yourself. Look as good as you can (within reason). Dress like the person you want to be.

 

We tend to feel how we look. When we appear disheveled and disorganized we tend to feel disheveled and disorganized. When we look well-presented and optimized, it is easier to feel proud and competent.

 

Taking responsibility for how you present yourself and dressing well can increase confidence and happiness.

 

Write in a Journal

 

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” –