Sloww Sunday 157: Clear Thinking, Talent Stacking, Knowing Yourself

Sloww Sunday Newsletter 157 (Oct 8, 2023) — Clear Thinking, Talent Stacking, Knowing Yourself, & More

Sloww Sunday shares my latest and greatest creations and curations to 10,000+ students of life. If you enjoy this issue, please help grow Sloww by forwarding the email version of this newsletter to other lifelong learners.

📘🌀 Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development

Questioning leads to Learning leads to Developing

You may not have noticed, but the name of this newsletter section changed from “Lifelong Learning” to “Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development.” Why? One of my biggest epiphanies this year was that lifelong learning and deeper development go hand-in-hand. You could even go as far to say that the entire point of lifelong learning is deeper development. As Jack Mezirow says:

”Transformation in the way one lives and thinks is the ultimate criterion for evaluating adult education.” — Jack Mezirow, Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning

Where does questioning (or inquiry) come into the equation? It’s the spark for all of it! The infographics below have been updated to reflect the latest and greatest. This is my journey so far in a nutshell. Does this resonate with your lived experience? For me, I think 1 & 2 were due to being a workaholic in a purposeless career that I never intentionally chose in the first place (hence an existential crisis and deep questioning to kick off the entire journey).

Explore more: 50+ posts on Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development (Sloww Stage Support)

🌎 Lighter Living

If you are SO busy, do you really know why?

One of the first things I did immediately after quitting my career was deeply investigate why everyone seems SO busy today. I initially thought it would be a simple question with a clear answer, but it took me down a rabbit hole that led to an entire post series:

I learned about busyness as a status symbol and the conspicuous consumption of time (here and here). And, surprisingly to me, I also learned that research says we actually aren’t busier than ever before. So, why do we feel so busy?

“I frequently worry that being productive is the surest way to lull ourselves into a trance of passivity and busyness the greatest distraction from living, as we coast through our lives day after day, showing up for our obligations but being absent from our selves, mistaking the doing for the being.” — Maria Popova

Explore more: 100+ posts on Intentional Living (Sloww Stage 1)

🧭 Higher Purpose

Have you tried “talent stacking”?

Discovering the idea of the talent stack was an epiphany in my search for purpose. I still think about it years later.

“Most people can—with practice—develop a variety of skills that work well together. I call this idea the ‘talent stack’ … The takeaway here is that anyone can develop a more valuable talent stack. Just figure out which talents go well together.” — Scott Adams

Explore more: 50+ posts on Life Purpose (Sloww Stage 2)

🧠 Mental Mastery

“Clear Thinking” by Shane Parrish

Sometimes Sloww is fast! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results by Shane Parrish of Farnam Street (Book Summary) was just released on Oct 3rd, and I had already read and summarized it by Oct 5th. If you’re already into subjects like habit formation, better thinking, and decision-making, you probably won’t learn much new stuff. But, it’s a good intro book for those just getting started. Speaking of which, you may like my cheatsheet infographics of 25 Mental Models, 25 Cognitive Biases, & 25 Philosophical Razors.

“If you’re like me, no one ever taught you how to think or make decisions. There’s no class called Clear Thinking 101 in school. Everyone seems to expect you to know how to do it already or to learn how on your own. As it turns out, though, learning about thinking—thinking clearly—is surprisingly hard … The overarching message of this book is that there are invisible instincts that conspire against good judgment. Your defaults encourage you to react without reasoning—to live unconsciously rather than deliberately. When you revert to defaults, you engage in a game you can’t win. When you live a life run on autopilot, you get bad results. You make things worse. You say things that can’t be unsaid and do things that can’t be undone. You might accomplish your immediate goal, but you fail to realize that you’ve made it harder to achieve your ultimate goals. All of this happens without consciously being aware you are exercising judgment in the first place.” — Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking

Pair with:

Explore more: 75+ posts on Mental Mastery (Sloww Stage 3)

☯️ Spiritual Seeing

“Know Yourself” by Ibn Arabi & Balyani

The short book Know Yourself: An Explanation of the Oneness of Being by Ibn Arabi & Balyani and translated by Cecilia Twinch (Book Summary) comes highly recommended by Rupert Spira who considers it the highest teachings of Sufi wisdom. Even though it’s a short read, it’s probably not the best place to start for those just getting into spirituality. On the flip side, if you’re already in the deep end of nonduality, then go ahead and dive in! It covers: God & oneness, blindness & ignorance, self & knowledge.

“This short book introduces a view of the world which is very different to that held by many people. For some, it may serve a purpose in shattering preconceived notions and presenting an entirely new perspective which opens up a compassionate and responsive universe. It reflects an ardent desire to reach beyond the peripheral uncertainties of everyday life and discover, for ourselves, a certainty in the oneness of being which constantly flows through everything that is.” — Cecilia Twinch, Know Yourself

Explore more: 50+ posts on Spiritual Seeing (Sloww Stage 4)

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All the best,

Kyle Kowalski
Founder, Sloww

Sloww Sunday Newsletter 157 (Oct 8, 2023) — Clear Thinking, Talent Stacking, Knowing Yourself, & More