Learn: Nudge theory, selective attention, Jimmy Buffett 

Read: 3 mins

Greetings from Austin,

In four months, it will be 2024. Holy moly. 

This newsletter is your quick “nudge” to make our time count. 

🫸 Nudge Theory

Nudge theory is a behavioral science concept that suggests people's decisions and behaviors can be influenced by small changes in how choices are presented.

This small change could be posting an image of an eye in public areas to reduce crime rates (some studies showed a 37% reduction just from a single street sign). 

Other times, it could be increasing the default tipping amount after a purchase, aka guilt tipping.

Or a million other examples. Whether we know it or not, we’re being “nudged” constantly.  

But we can also use this to align our own desired behaviors (e.g., smaller plates, healthier groceries, leaving a book or journal on the table). 

As James Clear said, "You don't have to be the victim of your environment, you can be the architect of it."

🔍 Selective Attention 

French philosopher Henri Bergson has a famous quote: "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

Okay, so real quick, read this image below.

Now your brain probably took a little shortcut and removed the second “the.” See? 

The mind was prepared to comprehend the message, and the eyes only saw the minimum amount to receive the message. This is often a useful feature. Otherwise, we’d get bogged down with minutiae. 

But other times, it might limit our thinking or keep us playing too small (e.g. goals or ideas for the future).

Author and business coach Dan Sullivan has a similar quote, “Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for,” and he offers a solution.

He suggests using an “impact filter” to define exactly what we want and remove everything else. It starts by taking just a few minutes to write down exactly what we want.

🦜 Growing Older 

Yesterday, I was saddened by the news of Jimmy Buffett's passing. I spent time listening to his music and reading up on his life’s story. His impact on people and overall joy for life was astonishing. 

In the end, we’re all growing older but not up. I love Jimmy's philosophy in that song, “Let those winds of time blow over my head. I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead.”

So a sad day today, but come Monday, it will be alright. 

In good health, 

Mitchell