Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of embracing fundamental thinking to enhance productivity and personal growth by learning from timeless philosophical principles and the experiences of others.

Abstract

The article draws inspiration from Stoicism, as presented in Ryan Holiday's "Stillness is the Key" and Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations," to highlight the enduring relevance of fundamental thinking across generations and cultures. It suggests that acknowledging the commonality of our thoughts and fears with others can be humbling and can lead to the realization that we are part of a collective human experience. By accepting these fundamental truths, we can build upon the wisdom of the past, save time, and become more productive. The author also cautions against the danger of self-centered fundamental truths, urging constant questioning and a focus on others to avoid ego-driven fallacies. The article concludes with a call to action to learn from the experiences of those we admire, fostering strong connections and personal development.

Opinions

The author believes that fundamental thinking is not unique to any philosophy but is a shared aspect of human cognition that has stood the test of time.
It is suggested that recognizing the universality of our thoughts and concerns can be humbling and can lead to the realization that we are not as unique as we might think.
The article posits that by building on fundamental truths, we can save time and energy, allowing us to focus on creating new, innovative ideas.
There is a warning about the potential pitfalls of accepting fundamental truths without question, particularly those that are self-centered or feed the ego.
The author emphasizes the importance of learning from others, including those we admire, to navigate life's challenges and enhance our own contributions to society.
The article encourages readers to question and disrupt self-centered ideas, promoting a more inclusive and empathetic approach to understanding the world.

Harness the Power of Fundamental Thinking & Be More Productive

The inspiration for this piece came while listening to Ryan Holiday’s Stillness is the Key, a dissertation on the principle of Stoicism and how it can apply to modern-day life. While hanging out in the productivity communities, I was hearing a lot about stoicism and wanted to learn more about it. So I did a 1–2 punch of Ryan Holiday followed by the OG Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations.

My observation from them is that these concepts are fundamental to human thinking, transcend any specific philosophy, and endure for multiple generations. I arrived at this observation when they were quoting from both Western and Eastern philosophies and it's still relevant today. In other words, what was true on both sides of the planet hundreds of years ago is still true today. That’s fundamental.

Fundamental Thinking is Humbling

I did a piece a while ago comparing how the different generations think, approach life, and their struggles. In researching that piece, I was humbled the feelings I was having in my early 40s are exactly what most 40 years old’s in the world are thinking about! Can you imagine the feeling of realizing your thoughts are not unique, your fears are common, and what you thought was special about yourself is, in fact, just universal?!

Yet, in that realization, there was a fundamental truth. I’m not special. But that’s also ok. If my same thoughts and worries are being had by others, then I can probably learn from others and save myself time. In other words, I’m not in this alone and, in fact, have a whole army of ideas at my disposal. I just need to reach out (aka Google it) and make use of them. There are fundamental truths that we should embrace.

“The more ideas are dependent on a given idea, the more fundamental that idea is.” — Jordan Peterson.

Fundamental Thinking Increases Productivity

Accept the fact that you are not unique and realize you are building on top of someone else’s work. You’re the next link in the chain of life, so be the best chain link possible! Develop yourself to be the most robust, more reliable link there is, and history will look back at you and say good things. “Hey, Johnny’s contribution to humanity wasn’t too shabby.”

Here’s why you need to…

Accept the fundamental truths… and build on top of them. We can have some confidence in a truth that was expressed hundreds of years ago and still makes sense today. For example, Marcus Aurelius cited how we should understand the motives of others in other to discern if they are being honest or not. Accept the fact that people have ulterior motives, and proceed to develop ways to uncover what they may be. Build on top of fundamental truths and contribute your unique ways.
Accept the fundamental truths… and spend your time more wisely elsewhere. If you can realize the fundamentals in life, then you can save time relearning the same lessons over and over. For example, are you constantly surprised by how selfish a certain is? Or how do most business decisions come down to short-term profit motivations? The faster you can accept certain things in life as fundamental, the more time you can save to then create space.

Fundamental Thinking is Dangerous

Conversely, there is a dark side to accepting certain fundamentals as truths. To me, I think it begs constant questioning if the “fundamental truth” is self-centered.

For example, for a long time, we thought the Sun revolved around the Earth, which we can clearly realize in hindsight now is egocentric. Littered throughout human history and in fictional work is the idea of human exceptionalism. The idea is that humans are so special that things unfold differently for us. This is even more pronounced in American culture with American exceptionalism, aka American ruggedness. These ideas are attractive because they make us feel special, perhaps even empowered. Those are not bad feelings to have, but they’re built on a foundation of lies.

So, rather than accepting a fundamental truth that is self-centered and feeds the ego, we should be vigilant in questioning them and do our best to turn the tables on it by focusing on others. Here are a few thought traps to watch out for:

Makes me feel special.
Makes others inferior.
Separates people into categories/buckets.
Only I can make this happen.
Others should be thankful for my contributions.
Others are better than me.

Realize we aren’t perfect, so at some point, these thoughts may cross our minds, so don’t feel bad about them. Just note the thought, understand where they may come from, and move past them.

Wrapping it up…

There are fundamental truths. By learning about them we can build on top of them, much like a sturdy foundation for our new ideas. These fundamentals are truths that should be exploited and disrupted with new, innovative ideas. Just be careful not to make these ideas self-centered.

My final takeaway for you to cultivate your learning of fundamental truths is to learn more about someone you admire, who is roughly the same age and demographic as yourself. I just finished reading an Esquire interview with actor Oscar Issac, who is 43 years old and (practically) a first-generation American, like me. Yeah, he’s way more famous, good-looking, and rich than me, but he also has struggles. He relies on having strong friendships that keep him honest which is something I can identify with. Chances are, what you have in common may be fundamental so learn how others deal. Now, build yourself from there.