Rest More, Learn Faster: Secrets to Mastering Any Skill (The Art of Practice by Peter Hollins)
Today's episode, "Know When To Take A Break," is an excerpt from Peter Hollins' groundbreaking book, "The Art of Practice." In this book, Peter reveals the secrets to accelerating your learning, building expertise, and performing like a pro. Discover why some people progress 100x faster than others and how you can harness those same secrets.
"The Art of Practice" is available on Amazon in both paperback and audiobook format. You can also find the audiobook on iTunes and Audible.
To learn more about Peter Hollins and his work, visit bit.ly/PeterHollins.
Transcript
10-Minute Philosophy:
Speaker:From Buddhism to Stoicism,
Speaker:Confucius and Aristotle - Bite-Sized Wisdom From Some of History's Greatest Thinkers Written by
Speaker:Patrick King
Speaker:Narrated by Russell Newton.
Speaker:Philosophy is one of those words that
Speaker:function like a Rorschach test.
Speaker:Philosophy is one of those words that
Speaker:function like a Rorschach test.
Speaker:A Rorschach test is otherwise known as
Speaker:the inkblot test.
Speaker:Certain types of psychologists show
Speaker:their patients an ambiguous image that
Speaker:vaguely resembles an inkwell spilled
Speaker:onto a piece of paper to gain insight
Speaker:into the perspectives and
Speaker:interpretations of their patient.
Speaker:The thought is that patients will see
Speaker:in the ambiguous image whatever they
Speaker:want to see in it,
Speaker:and that is representative of how they
Speaker:see the world,
Speaker:their emotional state,
Speaker:and so on.
Speaker:Two people looking at the same blurry
Speaker:splotch of ink can see two vastly
Speaker:different images,
Speaker:and it will have nothing to do with the
Speaker:image itself.
Speaker:And so it is with philosophy.
Speaker:I bring this up because philosophy
Speaker:isn’t always viewed with positivity
Speaker:or even interest.
Speaker:If you think of philosophy as
Speaker:time-wasting thumb-twiddling,
Speaker:then that is undoubtedly what you will
Speaker:get out of it.
Speaker:You’ll just hear a multitude of empty
Speaker:platitudes and wonder what the point of
Speaker:it all even is.
Speaker:This skeptical approach is fairly
Speaker:common and at times understandable.
Speaker:After all,
Speaker:what problems are being solved simply
Speaker:by thinking and pontificating about
Speaker:them?
Speaker:Indeed,
Speaker:if I’m hungry or in need of shelter
Speaker:right now,
Speaker:it’s difficult to see the value that
Speaker:philosophy can add to someone’s life.
Speaker:What tangible benefit is there to
Speaker:figuring out the purpose of our lives?
Speaker:Tangible?
Speaker:Zero.
Speaker:But philosophy was never about that.
Speaker:If you’re looking for a field of
Speaker:study to enrich your immediate
Speaker:surroundings,
Speaker:I might suggest that you pick up an
Speaker:engineering or finance book.
Speaker:Philosophy has always been about
Speaker:enriching your thoughts for greater
Speaker:happiness and fulfillment—an
Speaker:immeasurable quantity,
Speaker:but perhaps the greatest purpose of all.
Speaker:Admittedly,
Speaker:this was a mindset I also used to
Speaker:possess.
Speaker:If you were to create a hierarchy in
Speaker:society,
Speaker:especially in more ancient and brutal
Speaker:times,
Speaker:surely a philosopher would rank far
Speaker:lower than the average hunter,
Speaker:carpenter,
Speaker:or fisherman—at least in terms of
Speaker:pure utility.
Speaker:What was the role of a philosopher in a
Speaker:society beyond their teaching duties?
Speaker:But consider how our ancestors were
Speaker:able to figure out calculus,
Speaker:discern the relative size of the earth,
Speaker:and map out constellations.
Speaker:Eventually,
Speaker:when food and shelter weren’t
Speaker:immediate concerns,
Speaker:people were able to just sit and think
Speaker:about things,
Speaker:and this freedom of time is how humans
Speaker:were able to advance.
Speaker:Philosophers became repositories of
Speaker:knowledge and discourse.
Speaker:They became explorers,
Speaker:discoverers,
Speaker:and scientists.
Speaker:It is certainly no coincidence that
Speaker:when we look back at the lives of the
Speaker:most famous philosophers in history,
Speaker:they invariably were also scientists,
Speaker:teachers,
Speaker:and even mathematicians.
Speaker:The human need for understanding (some
Speaker:might say a sense of control)
Speaker:of their surroundings is insatiable,
Speaker:and it’s only natural that it would
Speaker:eventually spill over from practical
Speaker:concerns such as agriculture and
Speaker:calculus into topics such as purpose,
Speaker:ethics,
Speaker:morality,
Speaker:meaning,
Speaker:knowledge,
Speaker:and how to live.
Speaker:To evoke Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
Speaker:once our physical and then emotional
Speaker:needs are satisfied,
Speaker:we will inevitably turn our attention
Speaker:to learning,
Speaker:wisdom,
Speaker:exploration,
Speaker:and fulfillment.
Speaker:The word “philosophy” comes from
Speaker:the Greek phrase meaning “love of
Speaker:wisdom."
Speaker:And who doesn’t want more wisdom?
Speaker:Philosophers began with an intense
Speaker:curiosity about the mysterious world
Speaker:around them and sought out answers in
Speaker:the only way they could.
Speaker:They didn’t have the benefit of
Speaker:science or technology to find answers,
Speaker:so they had to start from ground zero
Speaker:and use thinking,
Speaker:reasoning,
Speaker:and critical analysis to gain truth and
Speaker:knowledge.
Speaker:How might you determine why men and
Speaker:women are different or why the sun
Speaker:rises in the morning?
Speaker:The only place you can start is by
Speaker:thinking and pondering,
Speaker:making observations,
Speaker:and then challenging everything you
Speaker:thought you knew.
Speaker:This is perhaps why philosophy can
Speaker:appear circular and redundant,
Speaker:constantly asking Why do you know what
Speaker:you think you know?
Speaker:That’s all they had,
Speaker:and you’ll get a full dose of that
Speaker:approach when you read later on about
Speaker:Rene Descartes.
Speaker:They grappled with questions that we
Speaker:still can’t prove or definitively
Speaker:answer even with today’s
Speaker:technological advances.
Speaker:But this didn’t deter them.
Speaker:What is life?
Speaker:What is right and wrong?
Speaker:What is our purpose?
Speaker:How should we live our lives?
Speaker:What is real and what is not?
Speaker:Philosophy seeks to answer these
Speaker:questions,
Speaker:and by and large,
Speaker:different schools of philosophy sprang
Speaker:out of different answers and approaches.
Speaker:We’re nowhere closer to objective
Speaker:answers to any of those questions some
Speaker:two millennia later,
Speaker:but many perspectives have been
Speaker:created,
Speaker:each with the possibility of increasing
Speaker:your happiness and fulfillment—your
Speaker:true benefit from learning philosophy.
Speaker:This will ultimately be the purpose of
Speaker:this book - exploring a set of
Speaker:approaches to fulfillment and finding
Speaker:one that helps you find your personal
Speaker:version of it.
Speaker:You might find that none of the
Speaker:approaches resonate except one.
Speaker:In that case,
Speaker:feel free to discard what you don’t
Speaker:like.
Speaker:You might find that each of them
Speaker:resonates in their own way,
Speaker:and in that case,
Speaker:cobble together a Frankenstein version
Speaker:of your approach to happiness,
Speaker:taking bits and pieces from everything.
Speaker:But as you will see from the following
Speaker:thought experiment,
Speaker:it’s not so easy as simply steering
Speaker:your ship toward a destination.
Speaker:The Trolley Dilemma.
Speaker:One of the most famous philosophical
Speaker:questions comes in the form of the
Speaker:trolley dilemma,
Speaker:and it is a question of ethics and
Speaker:morality.
Speaker:You can think of this problem as
Speaker:determining what is moral and what is
Speaker:not,
Speaker:for yourself and others.
Speaker:In doing so,
Speaker:you might find that your idea of
Speaker:morality directly conflicts with that
Speaker:of others.
Speaker:It was originally developed as a
Speaker:thought experiment by Philippa Foot in
Speaker:1967 and adapted by Judith Thomson
Speaker:afterward,
Speaker:and the nature of any dilemma is that
Speaker:it produces different answers that
Speaker:demand to be examined.
Speaker:There is fertile ground for
Speaker:disagreement and exploration of
Speaker:different interpretations.
Speaker:Each different answer underlies a
Speaker:different set of values and formative
Speaker:life experiences.
Speaker:Imagine you are standing beside some
Speaker:trolley tracks.
Speaker:You see a runaway trolley screaming
Speaker:down the tracks toward five workers who
Speaker:are facing away from it and don’t
Speaker:hear it coming.
Speaker:Even if they miraculously become aware
Speaker:of their imminent mortality,
Speaker:they are still doomed to their deaths.
Speaker:You are an innocent bystander,
Speaker:and you fortunately have some knowledge
Speaker:of how trolley tracks work.
Speaker:You see a lever that is connected to
Speaker:the tracks within touching distance,
Speaker:and you realize that if you were to
Speaker:pull the lever,
Speaker:the trolley would be diverted down a
Speaker:second set of tracks and the five
Speaker:workers would be saved.
Speaker:However—and this is where the dilemma
Speaker:comes in—you would be diverting the
Speaker:trolley down a track that would kill
Speaker:one worker.
Speaker:So would you pull the lever and save
Speaker:five people at the expense of one?
Speaker:Would you even act?
Speaker:Could you think in a utilitarian way
Speaker:and reason to yourself that you are
Speaker:actually saving four lives?
Speaker:And would any of those types of
Speaker:thinking affect the amount of guilt you
Speaker:might feel?
Speaker:What about if you didn’t move a
Speaker:muscle—would you be morally wrong for
Speaker:complete inaction?
Speaker:What if you didn’t want to be
Speaker:responsible for making any decision at
Speaker:all?
Speaker:What if you believed in fatalism and
Speaker:the matter being out of your hands?
Speaker:What if you thought that one life was
Speaker:equal to four lives in the grand scheme
Speaker:of things,
Speaker:so why bother?
Speaker:There is no wrong answer.
Speaker:The trolley itself becomes a substitute
Speaker:for people and forces you to think
Speaker:through the consequences and whether
Speaker:the rightness or wrongness of an action
Speaker:is determined solely by the outcome or
Speaker:by the intentions.
Speaker:In studies and surveys,
Speaker:it turns out most people would pull the
Speaker:lever and divert the trolley to kill
Speaker:one person while sparing five.
Speaker:It seems that instinctually we are
Speaker:mostly utilitarians at heart and will
Speaker:do what is best for the greatest number
Speaker:of people.
Speaker:But does that mean we would sacrifice
Speaker:ourselves in order to let a boatful of
Speaker:children live?
Speaker:What if the five workers were all
Speaker:convicted murderers and the single
Speaker:worker was on par with Mother
Speaker:Teresa’s impact?
Speaker:What if they were five elderly people
Speaker:with raging cancer?
Speaker:The permutations of what these choices
Speaker:can mean and what they say about us are
Speaker:endless.
Speaker:There are no correct or incorrect
Speaker:answers when you are seeking to gain
Speaker:wisdom and knowledge—even an answer
Speaker:that says “I would try to make sure
Speaker:all six people are killed” is not
Speaker:incorrect and provides a valid
Speaker:perspective.
Speaker:We all inherently want to do good,
Speaker:for ourselves and others—or do we?
Speaker:If this is starting to sound confusing,
Speaker:welcome to your quick introduction to
Speaker:philosophical thinking.
Speaker:The trolley dilemma is merely an
Speaker:example of the type of information and
Speaker:knowledge we can gain from simple
Speaker:pondering and thinking;
Speaker:it’s far from a useless pursuit,
Speaker:as these types of considerations
Speaker:influence law,
Speaker:policy,
Speaker:and decisions on both conscious and
Speaker:subconscious levels.
Speaker:In this case,
Speaker:you are forced to explore what it means
Speaker:to be ethical and moral.
Speaker:You will see that there is no such
Speaker:thing as a simple answer inside of a
Speaker:vacuum.
Speaker:Philosophical thinking may not provide
Speaker:tangible benefits in itself,
Speaker:but the process you use to get there
Speaker:certainly will.
Speaker:Philosophy Is About Thinking.
Speaker:What kind of approach do you need in
Speaker:order to have any hope of making sense
Speaker:of the trolley dilemma?
Speaker:For starters,
Speaker:you need a sense of analysis,
Speaker:logic,
Speaker:organization,
Speaker:and the overall ability to think in
Speaker:terms of consequences and implications.
Speaker:When you go down one thread of thought,
Speaker:what are the considerations that arise
Speaker:from it,
Speaker:why do they exist,
Speaker:and what do they lead to?
Speaker:If that leads to a dead end,
Speaker:then you need to be able to backtrack
Speaker:and explore other perspectives with
Speaker:thoroughness.
Speaker:Philosophy requires the unfiltered
Speaker:skill of critical thinking and analysis.
Speaker:It’s something that we constantly pay
Speaker:lip service to but don’t really delve
Speaker:into the meaning of.
Speaker:Unfortunately this does take
Speaker:considerable effort,
Speaker:as it runs counter to how our brains
Speaker:are wired.
Speaker:Philosophy is about the pursuit of
Speaker:thinking,
Speaker:and it teaches analysis of arguments,
Speaker:logical constructions,
Speaker:and critical reasoning.
Speaker:It teaches cognitive biases and logical
Speaker:fallacies,
Speaker:as well as a sense of discovery
Speaker:because,
Speaker:as you can see,
Speaker:no one answer is ever enough.
Speaker:You must always go deeper;
Speaker:there is always a next level down to
Speaker:explore.
Speaker:Your view is always limited and biased;
Speaker:how can you take on a different
Speaker:perspective?
Speaker:While it may sound tedious,
Speaker:for the lover of wisdom,
Speaker:it’s a good thing.
Speaker:You’ll challenge your own point of
Speaker:view and understand why others have
Speaker:merit.
Speaker:For instance,
Speaker:in the trolley dilemma,
Speaker:it’s about solving a problem with no
Speaker:real answer.
Speaker:With philosophy,
Speaker:you gain creative problem-solving
Speaker:skills.
Speaker:You learn to organize and classify
Speaker:information in a multitude of ways,
Speaker:all useful to a particular purpose.
Speaker:You’ll learn how to construct an
Speaker:argument and identify points that say
Speaker:what they are representing,
Speaker:as well as those that are basically
Speaker:deceptions.
Speaker:Perhaps the greatest and most adaptable
Speaker:skill you gain from philosophy is the
Speaker:ability to function and even thrive in
Speaker:the ambiguous.
Speaker:This is something else that we are
Speaker:wired against—we typically want
Speaker:certainty,
Speaker:especially in the face of a question or
Speaker:problem.
Speaker:But in philosophy,
Speaker:there are no true answers,
Speaker:only multiple valid perspectives.
Speaker:Where does that leave you?
Speaker:Needing to cultivate a set of
Speaker:techniques to question and understand
Speaker:deeper—these are the wandering and
Speaker:circuitous thoughts that appear to lead
Speaker:to nowhere to the casual observer but
Speaker:in reality are drilling down deep into
Speaker:knowledge and wisdom.
Speaker:With this ability comes a certain
Speaker:open-mindedness of what each different
Speaker:perspective entails.
Speaker:That’s something that no one is born
Speaker:with and that we must gain through
Speaker:practice.
Speaker:So if you are skeptical about why you
Speaker:might want to pick this book up or read
Speaker:on,
Speaker:there are very real benefits to
Speaker:learning philosophy—just not if
Speaker:you’re hungry or in need of a place
Speaker:to sleep in the rain.
Speaker:Life is not typically certain or
Speaker:concrete,
Speaker:so abstract thinking will assist you
Speaker:considerably.
Speaker:Yet this still pales in comparison to
Speaker:the value of finding your life
Speaker:philosophy,
Speaker:a personalized path to fulfillment and
Speaker:happiness based on some of history’s
Speaker:greatest thinkers.
Speaker:What’s Your Life Philosophy?
Speaker:Philosophy gives you hard skills,
Speaker:some might even say marketable and
Speaker:employable skills—even if a degree in
Speaker:philosophy is not known as such.
Speaker:But philosophy arguably gives you the
Speaker:most important thing you can have as a
Speaker:person—clarity on your own views,
Speaker:values,
Speaker:and perspectives.
Speaker:And it’s only through understanding
Speaker:those aspects that you can understand
Speaker:how to create the best life for
Speaker:yourself.
Speaker:How did you answer the trolley dilemma?
Speaker:Would you have pulled that lever?
Speaker:What went through your head as you made
Speaker:your decision?
Speaker:That’s who you are at the current
Speaker:moment,
Speaker:for better or worse.
Speaker:That’s where you stand on the
Speaker:spectrum of morality and ethics.
Speaker:It may just be a simple yes or no on
Speaker:pulling the lever,
Speaker:but it speaks to so much more of how
Speaker:you view the world and your place in it.
Speaker:Your actions stem from your values and
Speaker:morals,
Speaker:and it behooves you to understand why
Speaker:you do the things you do.
Speaker:Philosophy imparts self-understanding,
Speaker:one of the rarest qualities in the
Speaker:world.
Speaker:You understand what appeals to you and
Speaker:what you simply couldn’t care less
Speaker:about.
Speaker:From self-understanding,
Speaker:you can build the life you want.
Speaker:Imagine if a doctor were to prescribe a
Speaker:course of antibiotics based on only the
Speaker:symptoms and not the causes of an
Speaker:illness.
Speaker:That’s what we are dealing with if we
Speaker:lack self-understanding.
Speaker:This is what I would refer to as a life
Speaker:philosophy—a code of behavior and
Speaker:mindsets that you seek to live your
Speaker:life by to optimize your happiness.
Speaker:They are rules you set for yourself to
Speaker:fulfill your values on a daily basis.
Speaker:The simplest example is someone who
Speaker:endlessly pursues money to the
Speaker:detriment of their relationships.
Speaker:Clearly their philosophy is oriented on
Speaker:wealth,
Speaker:and they gain self-worth from it—even
Speaker:if they don’t know it or want to
Speaker:admit it.
Speaker:If they know it,
Speaker:they can orient themselves toward what
Speaker:fulfills them and avoid that which does
Speaker:not.
Speaker:It’s all we are really looking for in
Speaker:life.
Speaker:Everyone has a life philosophy,
Speaker:but most don’t know they do,
Speaker:and even fewer are able to describe it.
Speaker:If you were to ask someone,
Speaker:it would most likely be someone
Speaker:else’s philosophy parroted back at
Speaker:you.
Speaker:This is simply because most of us
Speaker:don’t know who we are or what we want
Speaker:from life.
Speaker:We are directionless,
Speaker:or we simply float through the path of
Speaker:least resistance and pain.
Speaker:A life philosophy helps you avoid all
Speaker:that by clarifying what is and is not
Speaker:important.
Speaker:That is the biggest benefit of the
Speaker:study of philosophy,
Speaker:and indeed this book seeks to provide
Speaker:the life philosophies of some pretty
Speaker:sharp thinkers to emulate or disregard.
Speaker:What was Aristotle’s take on
Speaker:happiness and fulfillment,
Speaker:and how does that compare to Marcus
Speaker:Aurelius’s or Confucius’s?
Speaker:Does the life philosophy of stoicism
Speaker:align with your values more,
Speaker:or do you prefer the principles of
Speaker:Taoism?
Speaker:What texts shed light on what’s
Speaker:important to you,
Speaker:what you want to avoid,
Speaker:and what you want to emulate?
Speaker:Surely we can learn from these titans
Speaker:of thought.
Speaker:Living without a life philosophy is
Speaker:like sailing a boat without a map,
Speaker:engine,
Speaker:or even end destination in mind.
Speaker:You’re probably seeking contentment
Speaker:and happiness,
Speaker:but you don’t know where it is.
Speaker:You don’t know what direction
Speaker:you’re headed in,
Speaker:and even if you knew,
Speaker:you would have no way to change course.
Speaker:You simply drift according to life’s
Speaker:external forces on you.
Speaker:You might come to the frightening
Speaker:realization that you’ve spent your
Speaker:life drifting toward things you don’t
Speaker:care about.
Speaker:You haven’t chosen your own path;
Speaker:you’ve just acted as a vessel for the
Speaker:people and context surrounding you.
Speaker:Learn about yourself,
Speaker:discover what is important,
Speaker:take responsibility for your own
Speaker:fulfillment,
Speaker:and directly pursue your own definition
Speaker:of happiness.
Speaker:Every small daily action acts to put us
Speaker:either further or closer to the correct
Speaker:course.
Speaker:While an educational tour through some
Speaker:of history’s greatest beliefs,
Speaker:10-Minute Philosophy is ultimately
Speaker:about better and happier living.
Speaker:It would be foolish if we didn’t look
Speaker:into the past and borrow from ancient
Speaker:people’s wisdom and apply it to our
Speaker:own modern lives.
Speaker:Each of the philosophies in this book
Speaker:has undergone thousands of years of
Speaker:scrutiny and has emerged intact.
Speaker:If you take away our modern
Speaker:trappings—electricity,
Speaker:Internet,
Speaker:and jet planes—not much has changed
Speaker:about us.
Speaker:Humans are still perpetually in search
Speaker:of happiness and fulfillment.
Speaker:A final note before we start - this is
Speaker:not meant to be an in-depth primer on
Speaker:multiple sets of religions,
Speaker:philosophies,
Speaker:and belief systems.
Speaker:It is an introduction (10 minutes,
Speaker:so to speak)
Speaker:of what these philosophies espouse and
Speaker:how you might be able to fit them into
Speaker:your life for a boost of happiness and
Speaker:fulfillment.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:ancient beliefs cannot be distilled,
Speaker:but all it takes is a single thought or
Speaker:shift of mindset to dramatically alter
Speaker:your life.
Speaker:Think of it as a shot glass of instant
Speaker:wisdom for your review.
Speaker:Not everything is covered in grinding
Speaker:detail,
Speaker:and concepts have been left out
Speaker:purposefully for clarity’s sake.
Speaker:We have one goal here—find a helpful
Speaker:path to happiness.
Speaker:Takeaways -
Speaker:•Philosophy means different things to
Speaker:different people,
Speaker:so I would like to present what it
Speaker:means to me.
Speaker:It’s about self-understanding and
Speaker:then taking and stealing from some of
Speaker:history’s greatest thinkers to form
Speaker:the basis of what makes you happy.
Speaker:It’s only when you understand
Speaker:yourself that you can move forward in a
Speaker:way that is more likely to lead to your
Speaker:happiness.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:clearer thinking leads to
Speaker:self-understanding,
Speaker:which leads to your life philosophy
Speaker:emerging.
Speaker:Formulating your own life philosophy is
Speaker:key to the life you want,
Speaker:and it influences all of your daily
Speaker:actions,
Speaker:big and small.
Speaker:•The trolley dilemma is a
Speaker:demonstration of the other major
Speaker:benefit of delving into philosophical
Speaker:thought.
Speaker:You learn how to think.
Speaker:You learn how to argue,
Speaker:debate,
Speaker:and reason.
Speaker:You learn how a seemingly innocent or
Speaker:simple question can have wide-ranging
Speaker:implications and consequences.
Speaker:You can learn to thrive in the
Speaker:ungrounded,
Speaker:abstract,
Speaker:and ambiguous.
Speaker:And when you direct this thinking
Speaker:toward deeper questions that philosophy
Speaker:presents,
Speaker:you can begin to understand yourself
Speaker:more than ever before.
Speaker:•Philosophy won’t directly feed
Speaker:your family or put a roof over your
Speaker:head,
Speaker:but indirectly,
Speaker:it leads to all that and more.
Speaker:This has been
Speaker:10-Minute Philosophy:
Speaker:From Buddhism to Stoicism,
Speaker:Confucius and Aristotle - Bite-Sized Wisdom From Some of History's Greatest Thinkers Written by
Speaker:Patrick King
Speaker:Narrated by Russell Newton.
