Maybe reading self-help primes you to think about how you can do whatever you’re doing in a better way, and having the habit of frequently and enthusiastically asking yourself “how can I do this better” and taking action on your answers is very general and valuable.
I reread Fr. Gallagher’s book on praying the Examen periodically as a booster shot, and it usually gets me back into the routine I want again at least for a month or two. And I’m sorely in need of a reread once I unpack my books.
I used to do the same thing with my embroidery, inkle weaving books, etc, as much to motivate me to take on new projects as to review techniques.
I think anything can be a gift/valuable if you choose to see it that way. By the same token, if you choose to read that book or attend that lame seminar with a dismissive attitude, you’ll tend to enjoy it less and derive less value.
For example, once I was at a workshop on Distraction and Getting Things Done—until I realized it was actually a workshop on being distracted by video games and addiction. The facilitator wasn’t very competent, and it turned out to be powerpoints on where video game addiction came from and a sketchy home-made video of her son talking about how video game addiction ruined his life.
This was the point at which I normally would have taken out my phone and found something I might’ve found of more value, but then I realized some of the themes of meditation and staying present, and tried to just really soak in what she was talking about and not oscillate looking for the highest value task at the time (a mindset I’m trying to let go of).
The shift in mindset caused more exciting ideas to jog in my head- eg. when she was talking about how video games are addicting because you’re always striving to reach the next level- how might I apply that to something I find more fulfilling, like getting through that long list of books I’ve been wanting to read?
Long tangent- but in short, an experience can be a gift if you choose to see it as such. More narrowly, even the most trivial platitudes of texts can be effective primers for good ideas.
Picking words out of the dictionary works IME, but not very well… I find I need prompts with more internal structure than that. But picking clusters of words (like, 5 words at random) can work OK. Opening books to random sentences works better, and some books work better than others. That said, I find that generating “random” sentences works better for me.
Maybe reading self-help primes you to think about how you can do whatever you’re doing in a better way, and having the habit of frequently and enthusiastically asking yourself “how can I do this better” and taking action on your answers is very general and valuable.
This is a good point. Funnily enough, I recently was thinking about re-reading a diet book I’d read some time ago solely for the motivational boost.
I reread Fr. Gallagher’s book on praying the Examen periodically as a booster shot, and it usually gets me back into the routine I want again at least for a month or two. And I’m sorely in need of a reread once I unpack my books.
I used to do the same thing with my embroidery, inkle weaving books, etc, as much to motivate me to take on new projects as to review techniques.
I think anything can be a gift/valuable if you choose to see it that way. By the same token, if you choose to read that book or attend that lame seminar with a dismissive attitude, you’ll tend to enjoy it less and derive less value.
For example, once I was at a workshop on Distraction and Getting Things Done—until I realized it was actually a workshop on being distracted by video games and addiction. The facilitator wasn’t very competent, and it turned out to be powerpoints on where video game addiction came from and a sketchy home-made video of her son talking about how video game addiction ruined his life.
This was the point at which I normally would have taken out my phone and found something I might’ve found of more value, but then I realized some of the themes of meditation and staying present, and tried to just really soak in what she was talking about and not oscillate looking for the highest value task at the time (a mindset I’m trying to let go of).
The shift in mindset caused more exciting ideas to jog in my head- eg. when she was talking about how video games are addicting because you’re always striving to reach the next level- how might I apply that to something I find more fulfilling, like getting through that long list of books I’ve been wanting to read?
Long tangent- but in short, an experience can be a gift if you choose to see it as such. More narrowly, even the most trivial platitudes of texts can be effective primers for good ideas.
Interesting, I used to have that mindset and I wish I had it back. :/
Yeah, I’d expect so… to the extent that this is the optimal method, picking words at random out of an dictionary could be useful.
What made you lose the mindset? For what reasons do you wish you had it back?
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic here.
Neither can I, but it is a technique (one of many) suggested by Edward de Bono for coming up with ideas.
Picking words out of the dictionary works IME, but not very well… I find I need prompts with more internal structure than that. But picking clusters of words (like, 5 words at random) can work OK. Opening books to random sentences works better, and some books work better than others. That said, I find that generating “random” sentences works better for me.
Went through a difficult period in my life. I wish it had it back ’cause I ran my life better then.
Nope.