Podcast summary and Notes on "clear thinking"

#180 TKP Insights: Learning and Thinking

In the fifth installment in a series of episodes, The Knowledge Project curates essential segments from five guests revolving around one theme: learning and thinking. This episode will help you create an environment that’s more conducive to clear thinking, improve your intuition, learn the difference between the two main modes of thinking, examine the learning process, use “online experimentation” to develop good judgment, and eliminate blind spots in your thought processes.

The guests on this episode are psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman (Episode 68), engineering professor Barbara Oakley (Episode 31), author and global macro advisor Adam Robinson (Episodes 47 and 48), economist and professor Tyler Cowen (Episode 39), and author and organizational psychology professor Adam Grant (Episode 112).

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The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

enNovember 07, 2023

6 Magic Words That Stop Anxiety & Overwhelm

In today’s episode, I’m sharing the “6 magic words” that I say to myself on repeat whenever I start to spiral.

I call them “magic” because they seem to have an almost spell-like effect on me when I say them out loud.

I’ve shared these 6 magic words with millions of people online, and today you’re going to learn what they are and how to use them to your advantage.

If you're a worrier, an overthinker, or struggle with anxiety, you’ll love these 6 words.

You can use them like a tool to stop yourself from worrying, obsessing, catastrophizing, and creating problems in your mind that don’t exist in the present moment.

These 6 words are rooted in behavioral science, psychology, stoicism, and even Buddhism. In fact, I’m going to share a fantastic metaphor to make this even more visual and easy to understand and apply in your life.

You will also learn:

How to use my 6-word phrase to interrupt your worries and self-doubt.
The question you can ask yourself to beat fear with logic.
A beautiful Buddhist teaching that will empower you to stop torturing yourself mentally.
A shocking study about how stressful thoughts cause you real pain.
What “positive ideation” is and why you need to use it the next time you start to spiral.
What the data says about your worries (my jaw was on the floor).
Exactly how to train your brain to be more optimistic.

Bottom line: You have the power to quiet anxious thoughts and to stop the endless loop of worries that run through your head.

You just need the 6 magic words I’m about to teach you right now.

Xo, Mel

In this episode:

0:44: I’ve got something I want to confess to you.

4:46: What is the ONE thing we all do?

5:13: You are creating worry and stress in your life. This is exactly how to stop.

6:49: How to use my 6-word phrase to interrupt your worries and self-doubt.

9:18: The question you can ask yourself to beat fear with logic.

12:10: A beautiful Buddhist teaching that will empower you to stop torturing yourself.

13:46: Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. Listen to this.

16:16: Assuming the worst is doing this to your nervous system.