Reading - Vital Input to Designing Worldview

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As I continued reading “Willpower Does Not Work” by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, I discovered a paragraph discussing about designing a worldview.  Design... I keep forgetting that my worldview is designed by myself.  Running into this paragraph was a gentle prod to remind me of my responsibilities towards myself.

Design a worldview...now that requires a bit of research, a bit of reading, preferably books. 

 Steve Kotler, in his book “The Art of Impossible”, states that books contain the most condensed form of knowledge and hence the highest Return On Investment (ROI).  To illustrate his point, he crafted a well-thought argument that supported the following figures:

           Blog: three minutes earns 3 days (worth of the author’s time)

           Article: twenty minutes earns four months

           Book: five hours earns fifteen years

Of course, the order of magnitude is much more important than these actual figures.  The vastly superior order of magnitude provides a solid case for committing to reading books.  

Having solidified that perspective, Kotler recommends a sound strategy for getting the most out of reading books.  I will only touch on one point that made the biggest impression on me - note taking.

He recommends against general purpose notes.  Instead he recommends the following:

            Take notes about the historical narrative for the brain to easily order new information

            Write down new terminologies and look them up

            Take notes on what gets you excited

As I read and follow recommended note taking, I know I will progressively alter my world view.  It is the best way, I believe, to take baby steps towards designing a worthy worldview.

Now, while reading provides critical input, I also hope I earn and retain a bias for action, without which my worldview design ambitions are ultimately futile.

 

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