Overthinking Everything

Overthinking Everything is a Substack focusing on personal development, productivity, and philosophical reflections. It explores themes like the importance of pursuing personal interests, facing fears, understanding procrastination, and the value of reading philosophy. The newsletter delves into practical and conceptual approaches to life's challenges and evolution, aiming to offer insights on living a fulfilled and thoughtful life.

Personal Development Productivity Philosophy Psychology Procrastination Work Types Evolutionary Theory Decision Making

Why do you do the things that you do?

1012 implied HN points • 28 May 23

Basic research can lead to practical applications and contributes to human flourishing.
Specificity in pursuing interests is key to personal fulfillment and productivity.
It's important to follow fascination rather than frustration in pursuing goals.

What's stopping you?

838 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23

🏥 Health & Wellness Self-Improvement Emotional Well-being Personal Growth

Don't make yourself smaller to fit in a box that doesn't exist anymore.
Dwelling too much on the future or being punished for being yourself can lead to unhappiness.
Face your fears, reverse negative patterns, and have the courage to pursue what you used to do but stopped.

Starting from where you are

733 implied HN points • 23 May 23

🏥 Health & Wellness Personal Development Self-Improvement

Acknowledging where you currently are is crucial for personal development.
Comparing yourself to others can lead to unnecessary misery and anxiety.
Identifying and addressing constraints is key to improving in any aspect of life.

Decisions depend on the decision maker

419 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23

🚌 Education Decision-making Gaming Learning Expertise Teaching

Decisions depend on who is making them, as individual factors influence the best choice.
Even in games with 'objective' optimal strategies, decisions are subjective based on each player's abilities and knowledge.
Beginners should consider their own strengths and weaknesses when making decisions, rather than just emulating experts.

Completing completable projects

384 implied HN points • 24 Aug 23

🏥 Health & Wellness Procrastination Self-Improvement Personal Growth Journaling

Projects that can be worked on incrementally are easier to complete
Recognize mode shifts in a project, and be willing to adjust strategies
Setting clear goals can help in maintaining motivation and achieving completion

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In praise of turning people into dinosaurs

384 implied HN points • 22 Jun 23

🎭️ Culture Comics Philosophy Humor Science Health & Wellness

Turning people into dinosaurs can lead to unexpected discoveries and progress.
Taking responsibility for the power one possesses is important, regardless of the scale of that power.
There should be no obligation to use one's talents for good without adequate support and resources.

Why to explain things you already know

279 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23

📖 Philosophy Understanding Knowledge Teaching Engagement

Sometimes explaining something you already know can help you understand it better.
Vertical explanations build on existing knowledge, while lateral explanations connect different parts of your knowledge.
Lateral explanations can create a more solid foundation for understanding, making it easier to build vertical explanations on top.

You can't "solve" procrastination

7 HN points • 16 Jul 23

🏥 Health & Wellness Procrastination Self-Improvement Motivation Personal Development

Procrastination is a response to underlying conditions that will keep coming up
Procrastination is diverse, with each episode being different and needing unique solutions
Understanding different motivations for procrastination can help in finding solutions

Two types of work

3 HN points • 17 Aug 23

📖 Philosophy

There are two types of work: crunchy and squishy.
Crunchy work is hard due to facing reality, while squishy work is hard due to navigating people's complexities.
Both crunchy and squishy work are essential in most important projects.

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