Tiny, Beautiful Thoughts

The title of this blog is inspired by Cheryl Strayed’s incredible book, “Tiny Beautiful Things”.

I highly recommend reading it – Strayed shares her wisdom and personal experiences to answer questions from readers seeking advice about love, loss and other personal struggles.

Most of these thoughts aren’t original, but rather, inspired by my favorite writers and thinkers, such as Strayed, Kevin Kelly (and his new book Excellent Advice for Living), Morgan Housel and others.

Let’s get to it. Here are a few things I think, a few things that make me think and a few general reminders to myself that just might resonate with you too.

On Actions Over Words

You are what you do. Not what you say, not what you believe, not how you vote, not what you blog, but what you spend your time on.

Your actions, not your opinions, hold the power to create change in the world.

On Beliefs

Perception shapes reality. Angry people look for problems and find them everywhere. Happy people look for smiles and find them everywhere. Pessimists look for trouble and find it everywhere. Our brain is good at filtering information to focus on only what we want to believe.

On Treating People

Don’t treat people as bad as they are. Treat them as good as you are.

On the Two Types of People

People can generally be divided into two groups: those who seek out new knowledge and those who cling to their existing beliefs.

On Incentives

Be wary of a barber that says you need a haircut, a mechanic that says a part needs replacing and a real estate agent that thinks the more expensive house is a better fit. Pay attention to incentives.

On Discovering How Someone Truly Feels

A better question than “how are you doing?” is “how are you sleeping?”. You’ll find out much more.

On Harm

People tend to be much more obsessed with harm posed by others (crime, terrorism) than self-inflicted harm that can have much greater consequences (poor diet, no exercise, chronic stress).

On Being Likable

Not everyone likes their name, but everyone loves to hear it. The easiest way to become more likeable is to remember and call people by their name.

The more interested you are in others, the more interesting they will find you.

On Social Media

Social media makes a lot more sense when you look at it as a performance rather than a way to communicate.

The gap between actions and words, particularly on social media, has never been greater. Watch out for people that say good things, but don’t do good things.

On Identity

Don’t define yourself by your opinions. Then you can’t change your mind. Define yourself by your values instead.

The more an idea is tied to your identity, the more you will ignore information that it is false.

On Looking Hot

The key to looking hot is to look like shit most of the time so it’s more of a surprise when you do.

A few more (tiny, beautiful) thoughts coming next week. Hope you enjoyed.