Useful Not True

Actual facts are as boring as dirt. Nobody bonds over facts. They have more incentive to share their thoughts, which are never necessarily true.

We can’t change what happened, but we can change the meaning we give it, which changes how we feel about it.

The world is negotiable as a flea market in Marrakesh. Only a fool doesn’t haggle.

When someone believes something that seems crazy to you, consider what incentives, from their point of view, make that belief useful.

All you changed was the image in your mind, and that changed your emotions and actions. Ideas and beliefs are tools. Choose the desired effect.

Beliefs create emotions. Emotions create actions. Choose a belief for the action it creates.

Do you like to see your life as shaped by destiny or chance? Which story helps you do what you need to do, be who you want to be, or feel at peace?

Meanings are entirely in your mind. But their effect on you is real. Like a placebo. It actually works. So the reverse applies as well. If a meaning is holding you back, you can actively doubt it, question it, and find evidence against it, to stop believing it. Then it loses its power.

He pointed up and asked, “What’s the meaning of the ceiling?” Someone said, “It provides shelter.” Someone else said, “Safety. Structure.” The teacher said, “Those are your meanings. The ceiling itself has no meaning. It’s just a ceiling.”

Meaning can help you feel your life is important, a narrative and purpose. Meanings can help you make peace with events out of your control. Meanings can give you a reason to persist in difficult times. But they’re internal, not external. They’re yours, not others’.

Maybe you’re making a big decision. You want to feel well-informed and certain. But that’s an emotional state unrelated to the facts. You’ll ignore a mountain of evidence if you hear one good story against it or just feel yourself leaning the other way. Most emotions can’t be persuaded. You need to feel good about your choices. Emotion decides. Facts rationalize. You’ll find whatever truth is useful.

You are your actions. Your actions are you. Your self-image doesn’t matter as much. When you realize what you need to do, it doesn’t mean that’s who you need to be. You can just pretend.