Mark Manson

The explanation I hear is very woo-woo and like, and also there's a little bit, speaking of narcissism, there's a little bit of kind of spiritual narcissism in it of like, of like, oh, if you really wish for something and you really focus on it, the universe is going to conspire to give it to you because, you know, there's energy in the world and it's all going to like coalesce. Like,

The explanation I hear is very woo-woo and like, and also there's a little bit, speaking of narcissism, there's a little bit of kind of spiritual narcissism in it of like, of like, oh, if you really wish for something and you really focus on it, the universe is going to conspire to give it to you because, you know, there's energy in the world and it's all going to like coalesce. Like,

I'm like, come on, really? Look, as somebody, there are very well understood, well documented cognitive biases in psychology. Our minds are not 100% accurate. We perceive things inaccurately. One way to think about it is that there's a lot of information in the world, and our minds are not fully capable of processing all the information at all given times. And so our mind uses shortcuts to...

I'm like, come on, really? Look, as somebody, there are very well understood, well documented cognitive biases in psychology. Our minds are not 100% accurate. We perceive things inaccurately. One way to think about it is that there's a lot of information in the world, and our minds are not fully capable of processing all the information at all given times. And so our mind uses shortcuts to...

narrow in and focus on what matters. Your mind can't process everything that it's perceiving, right? So your mind takes shortcuts. And one of those shortcuts is something known as confirmation bias. And it's, confirmation bias is super simple, which is basically whatever you are thinking about, your perception will look for in your environment, right? So everybody's- Kind of like a placebo or no?

narrow in and focus on what matters. Your mind can't process everything that it's perceiving, right? So your mind takes shortcuts. And one of those shortcuts is something known as confirmation bias. And it's, confirmation bias is super simple, which is basically whatever you are thinking about, your perception will look for in your environment, right? So everybody's- Kind of like a placebo or no?

I mean, everybody's experienced this many times. So for example, let's say you're thinking about buying a new car. You probably go years without paying much attention to what other cars are on the highway. But as soon as you think to yourself, I'm going to buy a new car. I think I'm going to switch models. Suddenly, every day you're driving to work and you notice every single car around you.

I mean, everybody's experienced this many times. So for example, let's say you're thinking about buying a new car. You probably go years without paying much attention to what other cars are on the highway. But as soon as you think to yourself, I'm going to buy a new car. I think I'm going to switch models. Suddenly, every day you're driving to work and you notice every single car around you.

You're like, huh, I wonder what that one is. I wonder if that's expensive. That one looks nice. Maybe I'll get that. And like suddenly the because you've prioritized cars in your mind, you start noticing them in your environment in a way that you never noticed before. And this has a very noticeable effect.

You're like, huh, I wonder what that one is. I wonder if that's expensive. That one looks nice. Maybe I'll get that. And like suddenly the because you've prioritized cars in your mind, you start noticing them in your environment in a way that you never noticed before. And this has a very noticeable effect.

So like if if I tell you that the color orange is going to be very important in your life over the next week. You start seeing it everywhere. You probably see the color orange a million times a day, but you never care and you never think about it. But if I tell you that and you believe it, you'll start noticing orange in all these little things that you do all the time.

So like if if I tell you that the color orange is going to be very important in your life over the next week. You start seeing it everywhere. You probably see the color orange a million times a day, but you never care and you never think about it. But if I tell you that and you believe it, you'll start noticing orange in all these little things that you do all the time.

So you can leverage cognitive bias in your favor, which is by focusing and thinking about your goals. It's like if I want to achieve something really important, If I focus and think about that day after day after day, I will start noticing opportunities or things that could help me achieve that in my environment, going about my day-to-day life.

So you can leverage cognitive bias in your favor, which is by focusing and thinking about your goals. It's like if I want to achieve something really important, If I focus and think about that day after day after day, I will start noticing opportunities or things that could help me achieve that in my environment, going about my day-to-day life.

Now, those opportunities and things were always there. I just wasn't paying attention to them. Because I've been thinking about it regularly, now I notice them, right? So it's manifestation. There's nothing manifesting. It was already there. It was there the whole time. You just didn't prioritize it. So you never noticed. And so it's, this is what I mean when it's like, it's not wrong.

Now, those opportunities and things were always there. I just wasn't paying attention to them. Because I've been thinking about it regularly, now I notice them, right? So it's manifestation. There's nothing manifesting. It was already there. It was there the whole time. You just didn't prioritize it. So you never noticed. And so it's, this is what I mean when it's like, it's not wrong.

It's just described poorly. Right. And I'm like, And I'm a science nerd, so I'm like, well, why can't we just call it leveraging cognitive bias? Well, that's not very catchy, and it doesn't sell a lot of books.

It's just described poorly. Right. And I'm like, And I'm a science nerd, so I'm like, well, why can't we just call it leveraging cognitive bias? Well, that's not very catchy, and it doesn't sell a lot of books.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.