u/iwantboringtimes

About a decade ago, just as I was close to finishing 10th or so book on brain stuff, I realized that for every new thing I learned, I was forgetting 2 (probably more) old things.

At that time, I was averaging about 1 (dry facts) brain book per week. Naturally, I felt quite proud about it, and the reminder-realization that brain attic space is limited was quite an ego-puncture.

After mentally beating myself up over it, I started prioritizing mantras and ye olde sayings. Cause they condense a lot of good sense into not just quick actionable steps, but are also very easy to remember.

Below are some of my current favorites (by other people):

Do not major in the minor things.

> "Majoring in the minor" means wasting excessive time, energy, and resources on trivial distractions while neglecting the high-impact goals that actually move the needle. It is a productivity killer that leads to (disallowed word in this sub) and missed deadlines

Think It Thru

> To think it through means to carefully analyze a problem or situation from start to finish. It involves methodically mapping out every step, anticipating all possible effects, consequences, and potential hurdles before making a decision or taking action.

Learn to Fail or Fail to Learn

> "Learn to fail or fail to learn" highlights a fundamental truth: if you don't embrace your mistakes and extract lessons from them, you will inevitably limit your own growth. Making mistakes isn't the problem; the real failure happens when you ignore the data those mistakes provide

Play to my strengths

> Playing to your strengths means leveraging your natural talents and abilities, which boosts confidence, reduces (disallowed word in this sub), and shortens your distance to mastery. Rather than pouring all your energy into fixing flaws, you maximize effectiveness by focusing on what you already do well.

Here's a couple of my own creations:

> Calm. Do it. Break it down. One at a time. Opportunities. Neuroplasticity.

Opportunities is stand-in for "Problems are Opportunities". It helps me see problems as potentially gold mine. Think of what inventions do - they solve problems and make money for their inventors.

> Boring work is still easier than hard work.

So, what are your favorite short simple sweet sayings?

(dear mods, I am really really curious why flameout is not allowed?)