21 Lessons for the 21st Century

That’s from chapter #1: Disillusionment.

Yuval gives us a quick tutorial on the rise and fall of communism and fascism along with the rise of liberalism and its precarious position in today’s world. Yuval also places Brexit, Trump and Putin in a broader historical context. Fascinating stuff.

Now, it’s impossible to read this book (about 21 of the biggest challenges facing humanity!) and/or read the news and/or be alive today and not, at least occasionally, experience a sense of stress.

Yuval wisely encourages us to “switch from panic mode to bewilderment” as we approach the global scene. (And, of course, we’d be wise to do the same on the micro-personal scene.)

When I think of embracing “bewilderment,” I think of Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer and Tony Robbins. In her book, Mindfulness, Langer tells us that, if we want to live a mindful life, we MUST embrace uncertainty. It’s our ticket to growth. Tony Robbins tells us the same thing: embrace the confusion that serves as a gateway between one level of understanding and the next.

The whole, exit “panic” mode reminds me of the psychological tendency described as “catastrophizing”—which is basically when we take a stressful situation and imagine the WORST possible outcomes that could come from it. It’s one of the least psychologically healthy things we can do. Much better, the cognitive behavioral therapists tell us, to “challenge” our catastrophizing thoughts and then take constructive action.

And… As I read that line I pondered the word “bewilderment”—which, as it often does, led me to the dictionary. Quick vocab lesson: Bewilder means “cause (someone) to become perplexed and confused.” It, interestingly, has an “unknown” origin but comes from two words: be + wilder. Be means “thoroughly” and wilder means to “lead or go astray.”

In other words, you’re thoroughly lost!! That sounds about right, eh?

Here’s what’s interesting. Bewildered has a lot of synonyms (like confused, perplexed, etc.). It has ONE antonym: enlightened.

I find that interesting because, somewhat paradoxically, the path to our own (heroic) enlightenment often (always?) requires us to step into the darkest part of the forest—where there is no trail and where we are most likely to get most lost.

(btw: Brene Brown wrote a whole book on this theme called Braving the Wilderness.)

To go back to Yuval’s wisdom from Sapiens, we need to be willing to have an empty map and embrace our ignorance if we want to get wise. It’s much healthier to do that with a “bewildered” mindset than a “panicked” mindset, eh?

So… All that to say: How are YOU approaching the current state of affairs in the global arena? With panic or with bewilderment? And, how about the current state of affairs in the micro-personal arena? With panic or with bewilderment?

Here’s to a little less panic and a little more calm, bewildered curiosity!

Pro Tip: Reduce the inputs Lead Yourself First style so you can get more clarity, creativity, emotional balance and moral courage. In the midst of such great challenges, it’s always wise to go all in on the fundamentals of eating, moving and sleeping as well. :)

That’s from Chapter #2: Work.

Yuval walks us through the astonishing ramifications on the horizon as a result of the astonishing advances in biotechnology and information technology.

Read the book for his analysis on how to approach the inevitable job displacement.

For now, take a moment to soak in those mindboggling stats.

And, if you feel so inspired, imagine a future in which car accidents are nearly nonexistent (thanks, autonomous cars!) and some of the poorest people on the planet can get access to better health care than the wealthiest among us can today (thanks, biotech!).

Puts things in perspective, eh?

Now let’s look at how to deal with such a quickly-changing world…

For our Optimizing purposes, I’d say THIS is the most important line in the whole book:

“For every dollar and every minute we invest in improving artificial intelligence, we’d be wise to invest a dollar and a minute in advancing human consciousness.”

So… How about a quick personal accounting? Two questions.

First: How much time and money do YOU spend on “artificial intelligence”?

It’s pretty much impossible to calculate that because everything from your smartphone and your smartwatch to your Facebook feed and Amazon account are driven by AI. So, for the sake of discussion, let’s just say you’re spending a LOT of time and money on AI. (Laughing.)

Now, how much time are you spending on advancing your consciousness?

Again, it’s tough to quantify that but unless you’re like Harari and investing TWO HOURS A DAY into your meditation practice, you’re probably not investing anywhere near enough.

So… Any ideas on how you can invest a little more time and money into advancing your consciousness?

btw: You know what “advancing your consciousness” could also be called? OPTIMIZING!!!

That’s from the chapter on “Education.”

Remember that discussion from the chapter on “Work”? Well, Yuval paints a sobering future in which we’ll all need to reinvent ourselves CONSTANTLY if we want to stay employable let alone thrive. The best way to prepare the next generation for THAT future?

→ “Most important of all will be the ability to deal with change, learn new things, and preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations.”

Yuval also tells us: “To survive and flourish in such a world, you will need a lot of mental flexibility and great reserves of emotional balance. You will have to repeatedly let go of some of what you know best, and learn to feel at home in the unknown. Unfortunately, teaching kids to embrace the unknown while maintaining their mental balance is far more difficult than teaching them an equation in physics or the causes of the First World War. You cannot learn resilience by reading a book or listening to a lecture. Teachers themselves usually lack the mental flexibility that the twenty-first century demands, since they themselves are the product of the old educational system.”

Mental Flexibility. Emotional Stamina. How to Flourish.

← Those are important lessons that are *considerably* harder to teach than physics or history.

They’re even harder to teach when very few people within the educational world are even prioritizing this stuff. Which is one of the reasons why I’m so inspired by an elementary-school teacher named Mrs. Kristie Kuehnast. (Pronounced “keenest.”) (Find her online here.)

Quick story: One day my team sent me a package in the mail. It was from Mrs. Kuehnast. Within that package was a thank you card from Kristie in which she told me that she and her class have been watching +1s all year and that the ideas have “stuck.”

In addition to her note and a picture of her class waving, there were thirty handmade thank you cards from all the awesome Optimizing students in her fifth-grade class.

Now, I don’t keep a lot of stuff. But that package and those cards are some of my most treasured possessions. I’m looking at them with tears in my eyes now. Mrs. Kuehnast had her students write their favorite +1s on the front of the card and then a sweet little note inside.

I’m looking at one that has “OPTIMIZE” on the top, a beautiful flower in the middle and each of these +1 titles in different colored pencil: “Teach Like Their Five” + “4% Better” + “Did I Win?” + “Win or Learn” + “Growth Mindset” + “OMMs” + “Grit” + “Quiz Yourself” + “That’s Like Me!”

Inside: “Dear Brian, Smokey bot is a mix of a fast, more upbeat person and a slow, planner type. You are a smokey bot because you are chill, funny, and cool from your videos.”

Plus: “Dear Brian Johnson, Your +1s have inspired me and helped me so much… Now I say needs work when I make a mis-take. I also power pose and love it.”

x 30 other amazing notes = A big smile and a big thank you to the sweet, awesome, futures of our planet. And, thank you, Mrs. Kuehnast. That package so perfectly captures my deepest “Why.” I’m honored to be a part of your life. Send my love to your kids! Let’s do this!!

That’s from the final chapter called “Meditation” in which Yuval shares “how somebody so skeptical can still manage to wake up cheerful in the morning.”

As I often mention, when someone like Yuval writes something like, “It was the most important thing anybody had ever told me,” I sit up a little straighter and fold the page over to make sure I share that particular wisdom.

Later in the chapter Yuval also tells us that “The most important thing I realized was that the deepest source of my suffering was the patterns of my own mind. When I want something and it doesn’t happen, my mind reacts by generating suffering. Suffering is not an objective condition in the outside world. It is a mental reaction generated by my own mind. Learning this is the first step toward ceasing to generate more suffering.”

All that, btw, comes right before he tells us that he spends *at least* TWO HOURS per day in meditation. And, each year, takes “a long meditation of a month or two.” btw: Important note: He tells us: “It is not an escape from reality. It is getting in touch with reality.”

All of that leads us to the most important Lesson for the 21st Century: What’s THE MOST IMPORTANT thing anybody has ever told YOU? Is that wisdom an integrated part of your daily life? If yes, high fives. If not, how can you make it so Today?

Here’s to Optimizing in service to playing our small role in meeting our world’s big challenges,