matter and mind

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did.” --Mark Twain

Imagine all you want: write down your goals. Wish, hope, desire. If you don't DO something about it, nothing is going to happen. Your mind won't move the chair under your keister. You do stuff physically and things start moving. Without your body there is no mind. “Mind over matter” is an insult to anyone's intelligence.

Move it!

Granted, your mind is a brilliant tool and I don't recommend you lose it. Still, just as computer simulations can't predict reality precisely when the input is lacking a variable or two, our minds cannot foresee the future. You mind can't predict if you will enjoy pistachio ice cream if you have never tried it. You don't know the list of ingredients, and even if you did, you'd have to taste it. All theory ends here. Your taste buds like it or they don't. Basta!

Mind depends on the body, matter, all day long. You get a toothache and the reliability of your mind's output is even more questionable than usual. We are making mistakes because mind does not control matter well. Welcome and embrace your mistakes. They show you more clearly than your thoughts which way you do not want to go next.

We must do regrettable things. We need to engage in wrong activities to find what we prefer to do. “Do the right thing,” is the number one jackass theory of schoolteachers. First of all, teachers are scared out of their wits to do anything for real: that's why they chose to become teachers. It's safer to lecture others with worthless hearsay than to get your own feet wet or to collect serious dirt under your fingernails.

Nobody knows what “the right thing” actually is until you do it. Hell, Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II staunchly believed they were doing the right thing for their immortal Tenno and to make their daddies proud. The minds of kamikazes—lots of them were extremely bright and well educated—could not figure it out in advance. Even the most brilliant dumbass has to actively do the regrettable. Matter comes first.

If we were capable of outsmarting matter, we could and would develop systems to beat the stock and futures markets. So far, we haven't come up with ANY money making system, ironclad or otherwise. The mind can't even produce a no-brainer. Long ago sports betting, horse races, and card games would have become serious income sources for the mindful masses. Alas, reality—damn matter, if you will—does not behave the way we think it should.

Agreed, I can make up my mind and visit the grocery store or found a company. But if the body doesn't make a move to get things rolling, the mind is powerless amidst its glorious ideas. Remember when you bought your last car? Did your mind decide which kind and what color? Be honest: most likely, your body moved towards The One—your mind may have made a slight adjustment—but your body steered in the general direction and you “knew” all of a sudden which one it would be. Your spouse couldn't move you, neither could your mind.

With a measurable delay, your mind was struggling to come up with the proper reasoning why you did what you did. Buyer's remorse wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the weakness of the mind compared with forceful matter. To prevent buyer's remorse and to protect ourselves from looking stupid when we have to justify our purchase decision in front of family including brother-in-law, we employ the mind to connect the dots. THEN we claim to have made a rational choice. Our mind proudly announces that the check writing movement of our hand was premeditated and explicitly ordered to be executed by body and matter.

Mind over matter? Cute! I know plenty of investors who can't follow their own exit strategy they patronize and pester others with.

Do more regrettable things. Try stuff. Keep that body moving, and you'll discover more of what you don't like and more of what it is you do want. Expecting a 19-year-old to predict whether she'll enjoy being a lawyer is insane. She'll has to find out by going in that direction. Change directions frequently. Charge forcefully further into the direction you have been going lately. But move, move, DO something, anything. Doubtlessly, you'll regret a few things you do. Myriads of ideas your mind comes up with that remain UNDONE are even more regrettable.

Don't mind your mind. Do what matters to you, move freely and expand your sphere of operation. Your mind will flex its muscles accordingly.

Egbert