Hey friends,

Our relationship with thought is riddled with tradeoffs. On one hand, thought is the engine that powers the modern world, creating abundance we’ve never known before. But on the other, thought is the destroyer of worlds, producing anxiety and worry in a populace that is inundated with angst.

To be human is to oscillate between these two poles. We must use thought as a tool to actualize our potential, but we must also disregard it to protect our sanity. The question, of course, is how to stabilize ourselves amidst this chaotic dance.

So in today’s new reflection, I want to offer a perspective that may help. If you’re an overthinker, it’s hard to free yourself from thought because it feels so convincing in the moment. This is because every thought holds an underlying story, and stories are the center of gravity behind every emotion.

But what’s important to remember is that many of these stories are bland, trite, and wearisome. We just need to zoom out a bit to see the truth of that statement, and that’s what this short post is here to do. So when you’re ready, let’s dive right in:

​The Tired Nature of Thought​

An Illustrated Insight

During a recent call with a consulting client, I came up with a visual metaphor that shows what happens when we have a self-critical thought. I call it the Thought Whip, and here’s how it manifests:

When we have a critical thought about ourselves, we tend to keep whipping ourselves with it, deepening the very wound we’ve needlessly created. It’s actually a form of masochism, but we don’t notice it as such because we’re internalized it as a habit.

When you view it as a whip, however, it’s so clear what you’re doing each time you revisit that thought. The first step is to notice its tired nature, and to then be kinder to yourself by putting away the whip the moment you realize you’ve been using it.

*Note: Speaking of consulting, I’ve decided to open up 1 or 2 more spots for potential clients. If you’re interested in 1:1 consulting, check out this page and hit reply to let me know what you’d like to work on.

A Thought I’ve Been Pondering

This excerpt from today’s post has been on top of mind lately:

Thought is never new, as every thought is an echo of one that has already existed in the past. That time you worried about that stupid thing you said is a pattern that has cycled through billions of other human minds. Same goes for the regrets that are difficult to shake. If anything, you can take comfort in knowing that there’s nothing novel about it.

Being present is in understanding this tired nature of thought, and silencing it altogether. Because it is only in this state where something truly new can be felt.

A Brief Parting Question

This newsletter is an avenue for me to share my writing, but I want to hear from other fellow writers as well. Here’s the question:

What’s the biggest thing holding you back in your writing practice?

In most cases, I’ve found that it’s either an emotional obstacle (self-doubt), a technical limitation (storytelling), or a productivity issue (procrastination). Or some blend of everything.

So what’s holding you back?

As always, hit reply to share any thoughts, to respond to the parting question, or to simply say hello. I love hearing from you.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share this email with anyone who might enjoy it. Have a great rest of your week!

-Lawrence Yeo

P.S. Thanks to Bridget for adding your support on Patreon! It means so much. If you’d like to support More To That and get access to book recommendations, exclusive AMAs, offline posts, and other reflections, join as a patron today.