Clear Thinking

Chapter 1.1

Thinking Badly-
or Not Thinking at All?

Rationality is wasted if you don't know when to use it.

When you ask people about improving thinking, they typically point toward numerous tools designed to help people think more rationally. Bookstores are full of books that assume the problem is our ability to reason. They list the steps we should take and the tools we should use to exercise better judgment. If you know you should be thinking, these can be helpful.

What I've learned from watching real people in action is that, just like the angry CEO, they're often unaware circumstances are thinking for them. It's as if we expect the inner voice in our head to say, "STOP! THIS IS A MOMENT WHEN YOU NEED TO THINK!"

And because we don't know we should be thinking, we cede control to our impulses.

In the space between stimulus and response, one of two things can happen. You can consciously pause and apply reason to the situation. Or you can cede control and execute a default behavior.

The problem is, our default behavior often makes things worse.

When someone slights us, we lash out with angry words.

When someone cuts us off, we assume malice on their part.

When things go slower than we want, we become frustrated and impatient.

When someone is passive-aggressive, we take the bait and escalate.

In these moments of reaction, we don't realize that our brains have been hijacked by our biology, and that the outcome will go against what we seek. We don't realize that hoarding information to gain an advantage is hurting the team. We don't realize we're conforming to the group's ideas when we should be thinking for ourselves. We don't realize our emotions are making us react in ways that create problems downstream.

So our first step in improving our outcomes is to train ourselves to identify the moments when judgment is called for in the first place, and pause to create space to think clearly. This training takes a lot of time and

Shane Parrish

Practical advice for thinking clearly
Financial Times

An indispensable guide to making smarter decisions each day.
James Clear, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Atomic Habits

Shane Parrish has a marvelous gift for asking the right questions to elicit how clear thinkers think. After mining the minds of an impressive array of decision makers, he s now put it all together in Clear Thinking, giving us a powerful framework of concepts and tools. Incisive. Practical. Full of vivid examples, and enormously fun to read.
Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great
 
This book is a valuable antidote to stupidity, and a game-changer for anyone seeking to succeed.
Morgan Housel, bestselling author of The Psychology of Money
 
Shane Parrish, the brilliant thinker who created Farnam Street and the podcast The Knowledge Project, has distilled the wisdom he s gathered over the years into a must-read book full of fascinating stories and insights. Clear Thinking gives you the practical tools you need to counteract the forces that can lead you down the wrong path.
Bethany McLean, bestselling coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room
 
An actionable guide to using your mind more effectively, and a lucid manual for overcoming cognitive biases and making better decisions.
Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential, and host of the TED podcast Re:Thinking
 
If you want results good ones that you can achieve confidently again and again, read this book. Shane Parrish demystifies the process of thinking clearly so you can create better odds in your personal and professional life.
Annie Duke, bestselling author of Quit
 
Shane Parrish is someone I have been reading for many, many years. This book is his masterwork, the culmination of all his research, interviewing, and