Think for yourself

The ability to think for yourself has just about vanished in the past decade.

We're given a remarkable tool to think and rationalize with, yet we pass the responsibility on to someone else.

We are in the age of influence - everything is looking for your attention and money.

Information bombards us 24/7, and a good chunk of it has ulterior motives.

Not being able to think for yourself is dangerous to your mental health, wallet, and freedom.

Most people are okay with that, though.

Even the ones that call everyone else sheep and scream to wake up.

They're just victims of another ideology.

But that's how dangerous believing everything you hear and see can end up being.

As soon as you start taking every word someone has to say as real, you're no longer thinking freely.

To make sure you don't get lost in the chaos,

I'm going to give you 4 steps to becoming a top 1% thinker.

Let's dive in.

Seek new information

Thoughts are created using information that we already have.

To have quality thoughts in the end, you need to consume quality information in the beginning.

And if you'd like to have novel ideas, you need to always be seeking out new, quality information (stress on quality).

Garbage in, garbage out. Gold in, gold out.

Curiosity killed the cat, but it's what will allow you to form your own opinions and create new ideas.

Question everything

Don't believe everything you hear - I cannot emphasize this enough.

So many times people graze the headline of an article, don't read it, and then act like they know what they're talking about.

Yet, we don't even question the fact that they might not know what they're talking about.

This still applies when someone more credible speaks.

You never know someone's motives and/or their source's motives.

Take time to process

Your brain can't process anything if it's constantly being filled.

It's so important to make sure your brain actually has time to work through what you've consumed.

An overloaded mind means an overwhelmed vessel.

This is why quiet walks, meditation, and sitting in silence are so crucial to information retention.

These times are also when new creations show up because you have the space to make new connections.

Silence is the most important step in creating novel thoughts.

Write

Writing is the ultimate source of clarity.

This is where your ideas really start to take shape.

Not only that, but you can sculpt them exactly the way you want.

Thoughts don't always make sense while they're still in your head, or you might forget them.

Looking at them in front of you usually sparks a lightbulb.

Sidenote: If you're feeling overwhelmed, the best path out is through braindumping. Open a page, dump away, and you will find peace and clarity on the other side.

Today’s read was much quicker.

Kind of toyed with a new format and style.

So let me know how you feel about it or if you liked the old style.

Until next week, with love,

Noah