The Awakening of the Mind — the driving force for personal change
In ordinary language, the mind is our attitude toward people and things, together with the judgments and choices that follow from it.
I have learned that having something to do every day does not mean you are awakened, and working hard every day does not mean it either. True awakening is an inner desire: take the long view, remain patient, use the power of cognition to make time your friend. I have also learned that the fundamental difference between people is a difference in cognitive ability. Cognition affects choices, choices change fate, and the essence of growth is making the brain’s understanding clearer.
Part I: Look inward and escape anxiety
The brain
The triune-brain theory
The author proposes a triune-brain theory: the instinctive brain, emotional brain, and rational brain.
Timeline: instinctive brain (reptilian brain) > emotional brain (mammalian brain) > rational brain (new brain)
The rational brain is more advanced, but it appeared later, is less mature, and is slower.
The instinctive and emotional brains control the subconscious and basic life activities, so they are fast.
Most everyday decisions are made by the instinctive and emotional brains.
Most of the time we think we are thinking, but we are actually rationalizing our own behavior and desires. This is why humans are called “the animal that explains itself.”
Avoiding difficulty and seeking quick results are part of our nature.
We want to study more, but keep wanting to play with our phones first.
We want to exercise more, but keep wanting to start tomorrow.
An important task is right in front of us, but we keep wanting to do something else first.
Key: the computational ability of the instinctive brain and the action ability of the emotional brain are indispensable resources. We should use the rational brain to drive both.
The roots of anxiety
For a while, I was especially anxious too: anxious about my life, confused about the future, and troubled by broken relationships, until I hit bottom and slowly rebounded.
I quietly accepted the anxiety until I realized that many people do not begin their own careers until middle or old age.
Comparison is the thief that steals happiness.
- Completion anxiety
- Positioning anxiety
- Choice anxiety
- Environmental anxiety
- Difficulty anxiety
The root of anxiety is wanting to do many things at once while also wanting to see results immediately.
All human suffering is essentially anger at our own powerlessness — Wang Xiaobo.
The information society amplifies our anxiety.
Success stories across Xiaohongshu, Moments, and other platforms
make us feel unsuccessful. The fast pace of life leaves us no time to adjust.
Key: operate in the opposite direction.
- Restrain your desires; do not do many things at once.
- Face reality and see your real abilities clearly.
- Put important things first and find a way to do only the most important thing.
- Accept your environment and do what you can within its limits.
- Face the core problem and push yourself hard to break through it.
Patience
The success and popularity of novels and short dramas comes partly from satisfying people’s need for instant gratification.
Face your nature, put down the burden, and accept it calmly.
Trust the compound-interest curve.
Learning has plateaus and progresses in waves (algorithms, for example, often have plateaus).
There are a comfort zone, a stretch zone, and a difficulty zone. Keep yourself at the edge of the comfort zone and continue breaking through.
The subconscious
Vagueness
Vague cognition, vague emotions, vague action.
Eliminate vagueness.
Sensibility
Learn by feeling; trust your feelings and capture the sensibility.
