Are you interested in becoming smarter, a deeper thinker, and making better predictions?
Then I have a challenge for you.
But most of you won’t do it.
It involves being brutally honest with yourself – opening yourself up to deep and lasting improvement in how you think.
If you can stand the discomfort that causes, the upside is massive.
It will positively affect every single aspect of your life…
…making you happier, wealthier, and wiser.
Here it is:
If you’ve made a post about the Coronavirus outbreak…
Or you’ve shared a post about it…
Or you just have an opinion about it…
Save it somewhere.
Screenshot the post, write down your opinion.
Ask yourself, “Why do I think this is true?”
Write down your reasons.
Then, ask yourself:
“In two weeks, how will I know if I was right or not?”
No ambiguity here. Make a prediction.
If you think COVID-19 is no big deal, what would that look like two weeks from now?
Maybe infections have dropped off by more than 50%.
Maybe mentions of the virus in the news have decreased by 75%.
Or maybe all travel-bans across the world have been lifted.
If you think the virus is a HUGE deal, a catastrophe…
How will you know you were right in two weeks?
Maybe hospitals in the U.S. are rationing care.
Maybe the world death toll has risen by 100%.
It’s up to you to pick the conditions – just go with what you think will happen.
Write it down.
Then, go to your calendar, or your reminder app on your phone, and set a reminder for two weeks from now.
14 days from now, go back and read what you wrote –
What you believed, why you believed it, and how you would be proven right.
Then go find out if what you predicted came true.
If you were wrong, why?
What caused you to be wrong – were you off by degrees? Or were you completely off base?
If you were right, why? Did you have better sources than other people?
In both cases: How can you improve your thinking process the next time?
What you are creating here is called a Decision Journal.
It is one of the most powerful tools that exists for:
– improving your reasoning
– making better predictions
– making better decisions
…And almost no one uses one.
Because it can be painful.
We don’t like to be wrong…
And we all are. Most of the time.
It requires courage to see our flaws (which are universal) and work to improve them…
Rather than trying to explain them away.
Hell, most of the time, we don’t even REMEMBER what we believed…
We paper over our mistakes and tell ourselves we were really right all along.
If you can avoid that trap…
You will teach yourself to think, and reason, and predict at a much higher level.
The ultimate advantage.
Your true potential.
Try it. Let me know how it goes.
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