Why Daily Reading, Writing, and Thinking Are Non-Negotiable

Vitally Important, Rarely Taught Series

There is a chipmunk that tirelessly runs around in my backyard, forever in search for food. I call it Chippy. Watching it move around in my yard makes me happy. On most days, it is restless and alert. But on one bright sunny morning, I found Chippy sitting on top of a fence post, enjoying the warmth of the sun. For the first time I found it relaxed and peaceful.

Many of us are like Chippy. We are engaged in too many activities. It feels like we are in a blender - too many thing whiz past too fast. And we feel confused and embarrassed not knowing what to do.

It’s possible that many of these activities are non-productive, and it will be useful to analyze them.

One way to claim our sanity is by harnessing the power of daily Reading, Writing and Thinking. This transformative trio is often overlooked by us.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “If you read for one hour, write for two hours; and if you write for two hours, think for three hours…”

Let’s start in the reverse.

Thinking

Blaise Pascal - the famous French physicist - wrote “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Try and sit by yourself in a room for 30 minutes and watch your mind. It’s likely that your disobedient thoughts will be scattered like birds before the hunter.

You likely don’t have 30 minutes to spend on social media but you make time anyways. Similarly, try and sit alone for a few minutes everyday and reflect. It will allow you to step back from the daily madness and observe things from a more detached perspective.

Just like you keep our desk clean, this meta-awareness will help you to tidy up your mind. It will improve your emotional state and offer insight into your behavior and motivations.

During the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Eliud Kipchoge, hailed as the world’s top marathon runner, along with Bashir Abdi and Abdi Nageeye, were waiting in a staging room to receive their Olympic medals, which Kipchoge won for the second time. During the wait which lasted several hours, Abdy and Nageeye did what anyone else would do - aimlessly scroll through social media. Kipchoge didn’t. He just sat there quietly, in perfect tranquility.

It’s this state of mind that I aim for.

The other form of thinking which I’d like to talk about is - Asymmetric Thinking. The concept is rooted in game theory and has been popularized in various fields by thinkers like Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who discusses it in his book "Antifragile.

Our default thinking mode is linear and reactive. Asymmetric Thinking involves thinking differently; outside our usual framework - to create new possibilities. Otherwise, how could we transmit a broadband signal through a telephone line! People thought differently and made it possible.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them - Einstein

At work, we find ourselves answering calls/emails, attending meetings (don’t get me started on this), and analyzing data. These tasks are very operational and can be likened to the homework assignments we had during our school days.

In executing these tasks, we often find ourselves in the “Follow” mode. We lack either the time or the incentive to take initiative - to do new things. As a result, there is often a dearth of creative work.

What if we can examine problems or situations from unconventional or non-linear perspectives by exploring creative, innovative, and unexpected solutions.

One option is to use “Thinking by First Principles” - popularized lately by Elon Musk. In this style of thinking we are not bound by the limitations imposed by conventional thinking. This type of thinking helps in unlocking new possibilities for innovation and progress.

In simple words, if we had an existing Lego structure we don’t build more on top of it. We start with the basic building blocks and create new designs.

Writing

Writing is thinking clearly. Writing sharpens thinking. It crystallizes ideas.

Thinking is hard. Writing is harder. But both compliment each other by bringing clarity to our thought process.

"I write to find out what I didn't know I knew." - Robert Frost

What we achieved by thinking needs to be printed in our mind and connected with our existing knowledge. Our thinking needs to be defined and consolidated.

Reading is food for thought, Thinking is Churning the food, writing helps us digest it.

Writing is also important to save your thoughts. It’s very hard to recover a thought once it’s gone. [One hack I use is to make a quick note on my phone or simply do a voice recording].

Further, it’s hard to do focused thinking. Most of the time we do distracted thinking - moving from one thought to another. But when we write, the words stick on paper and we can return to them later. In this way, we can organize our thoughts and our ideas become more than intuition.

The best of the writers struggle to write and therefore in the beginning it may be useful to force ourselves to sit down and write. Like everything else, things will get better after some practice.

We know what we know because someone put the effort to document it. We can pay it forward by sharing our thoughts and ideas.

I also feel that everyone should write because we all are full of ideas we are not aware of. So, please write. You need not publish it; it’s the process that counts. You will discover so much you never knew.

Warren Buffet has this to say:

Some of the things I think I think, I find don’t make any sense when I start trying to write them down. You ought to be able to explain why you’re taking the job you’re taking, why you’re making the investment you’re making, or whatever it may be. And if it can’t stand applying pencil to paper, you’d better think it through some more.

Reading

In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time,” says Charlie Munger. “None. Zero.”

We understand the importance of reading but fail to follow through. Perhaps because of time constraint. Or perhaps because of laziness.

Reading is a skill as well as habit. And it is primarily guided by curiosity.

Even if one doesn’t have the thirst for knowledge, I think we all agree that “Reading” provides inputs to our brain. It’s the food for our mind. How else can we expect to expand our understanding.

I am sure if you have read this far then you have the stamina to read. What needs to be done next is to choose what we read and develop a system to extract value from it. This is a skill that requires honing. As Charlie Munger says, the value of what we read lies in it’s usability; if we cannot apply it later on, then it serves no purpose.

We know enough about the benefits of reading and I don’t feel there is a need to stress it more.

The challenge that most people face is about developing the habit and making reading a part of one’s routine. I am sure once we make up our mind, anything is achievable.

In Summary

Just like we go to a gym to exercise our body, we need a gym for our brain too. The trio of Reading, Writing and Thinking compliment each other and helps us in achieving mastery.