The Battle for Our Minds

Free Your Mind (Steve Sawyer)
(Photo by Steve Sawyer)
The battle for our minds usually isn’t a struggle against brainwashing (although most of us are mildly brainwashed). The battle for our minds isn’t usually about politics, consumer culture, and mass media. Nope. The battle for our minds is fought out every day in the workplace, and due largely to. . .

The Paradox of Intelligence

More intelligent people tend to have jobs that require very high levels of mental engagement (not to mention, longer work weeks). If you’re a doctor, lawyer, accountant, consultant, teacher, etc., then chances are your thoughts are consumed by work-related activities (and that you have less-than-average amounts of free time).

Highly intelligent people are more likely to exchange their brainpower for money, and less likely to retain much of said brainpower for themselves. They’re more likely to enroll in mentally demanding graduate programs and accept mentally demanding jobs. (In the western world we’re taught that if we have the capacity to be a doctor then it’s somehow a “waste” to work retail, make smoothies for a living, or become a farmer — even though a retailer worker, smoothie maker, or farmer get to own more of their thoughts).

Hence, the paradox of intelligence (POI) says that in general, the more intelligent you are, the less brainpower you’re likely to keep for yourself. The POI says that the smarter you are, the less you keep your mind for yourself. It says that the more intelligent you are, the greater the probability that an employer owns too much of your brainpower.

As a result of this paradox, intelligent people are losing the battle for their minds. They simply have less mental energy at the end of the day to ask the bigger questions. They have less mental energy and time needed to gain perspective.

The battle for our minds is really the battle create our own thought destines. The battle for our minds is . . .

The Battle for Own Our Thoughts

The battle for our minds is the battle to think on our own terms and on our own timetable. It’s the battle for freedom to let our minds wander, because the best thoughts emerge from the most unlikely places, and when we’re lavishing ourselves with time. The best thoughts happen when we’re staring out windows and daydreaming; they happen when we’re looking at scenes like this (because we’re really there).

(Photo by ~FreeBirD®~)
They happen when we have perspective.

The best thoughts occur when you don’t have to have them, they occur after plenty of rest, they occur when you’re grasping the gestalts of life. The best thoughts occur when we’re mindful of the full immensity of this beautiful thing called existence.

The battle for our thoughts is the battle against our ego’s desire to gain an “important” job; it’s the battle against the very materialism that encourages us to exchange too many of our thoughts for money; and it’s a battle against the collective flattery (of society) that sweet talks us into crazy-busy careers. (Note: This paragraph was highly influenced by a great anti-travel guide I’m reading called Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide. It’s got loads of perspective and I highly recommend it).

The battle for our minds really isn’t about reclaiming brainpower to do our own taxes or solve more Sudoku puzzles. No. The battle for mind is important because. . .

**We Desperately Lack Perspective**

Raoul Vaneigem once wrote that “[e]verything has [already] been said [and] all our knowledge is essentially banal.” And he’s right. If you read the profound thoughts of any great teacher or leader, you’ll likely find no new knowledge. What you will find, however, is heaps of timeless perspective. You’ll find knowledge deeply rooted in perspective and amplified by perspective.

Great thinkers and teachers are great because their perspective forces you to take a second glance at the knowledge you already have. And their perspective is so compelling because it couldn’t have come from anywhere except direct experience.

When workaholics give up their minds each workday in devotion to balancing spreadsheets, selling widgets, arguing cases, etc. it’s not knowledge they’re missing out on. It’s perspective. The kind of perspective that requires variety, and discursive thinking, and morning runs during sunrise. The kind of perspective that requires new experiences, reflection, and carefree conversations with friends.

We desperately lack perspective because we are a society of workaholics, and workaholism is like kryptonite to perspective. (It’s often said that highly intelligent people lack common sense; but I believe they really lack is perspective as a result of handing an unhealthy amount of their brainpower to their bosses).

You Just Can’t Hack Perspective

There are no perspective hacks. None. You just have to suck it up, live a little, and wallow in the mud of life. You have to get your hands dirty with this beautiful business of living. You have to question, meditate, and fail often. You simply have to make space for perspective and hope that it will come eventually. You have to spend time in a manner that would seem self-indulgent to most.

There are no perspective shortcuts.

Who’s winning the battle for your mind?

For more reasons to quit your high-powered job, subscribe to The Growing Life.

Posted on 29 Apr, 2008

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36 Comments so far »

Jared Goralnick said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 1:54 pm

Okay okay, so I need to take a long vacation and get the heck out of my office chair.

I’m not so sure that getting away is going to give me a perspective that’s going to improve my life in the short-term…but it IS going to make an impact that will likely help in the long term and will certainly offer things I’ll be proud to look back upon.
Clay Collins said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 2:10 pm

@Jared: My hunch is that you’re doing much better than most. In my opinion, it’s less about where you are (i.e. your office chair) and more about having the freedom to think about the things you want to think about, when you want to think about them.

I’m reading vagabonding right now and that book is filled with perspective. A great read.
Ellen Wilson said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 2:14 pm

Clay, this is a great post. And you know I love your great hair.

Seriously, what got to me was, “It says that the more intelligent you are, the greater the probability that an employer owns too much of your brainpower.” I find this to be very true.

Vagabonding sounds very good. Who wrote it?

I’m RSS’ing your site! E
David | beplayful said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 2:20 pm

Clay,

I love this post.

I think workaholism is a battle for our bodies as well as our minds. Whilst we are at work, our bodies are unable to unwind, play, or relax.

Whilst our bodies are stuck in the workplace they are not out in the world, sharing their beauty with others.

David
Vered - MomGrind said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 2:21 pm

Ha. I quit my job as an attorney ten years ago and never looked back.

Having said that, I’m afraid I still have workaholic tendencies. No matter what I do - being a mom, working at a Silicon Valley startup, even blogging - I tend to take it very seriously and invest a lot of my brainpower in it (yes, you can invest a lot of brainpower even in motherhood).

The result: even though I am officially out of the rat race, I still lack the perspective that you are talking about.

Thanks for an interesting thought.
Wendi Kelly said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 2:35 pm

This is why I added journaling and meditation to the important must things in my day. Only when I am quiet can I hear what I have to say.
Clay Collins said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 3:08 pm

@Ellen: Thanks for the hair complement. You didn’t happen to see that Clay blow up doll, did ya?

@David: I completely agree with you about workaholism being a battle for our bodies as well as our minds. That’s an interesting and appropriate insight.

@Vered: Yeah, I have abiding workaholic tendencies as well. They’re very hard to shake. And I totally believe that being a mother takes lots of brainpower. (I was a pain-in-the rear smart-ass kid and probably turned my mom into a workaholic mom :-). Anyway, it sounds like you’ve led an interesting life, and from reading your blog I’m surprised to year you say that you lack perspective. My guess is that you have more than you give yourself credit for :-).

@Wendi: Yeah, those things are very necessary. I find that when I don’t have time for meditation that’s a good litmus test for my mind being out of balance.

I’ll be back to the comments later. Now it’s time to get some coffee!

–Clay
Living Off Dividends & Passive Income said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 5:04 pm

You’re so right!

thats why I took time off to spend 3 months in thailand and india and another 6 months to chill before I start B school in the Fall!

Btw, I’m going to Omaha this weekend to meet warren buffett. :-D
Liara Covert said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 6:35 pm

I sense different kinds of intelligence exist. Professional or workplace labels offer a rather limited view of perceived “intelligence.” Whenever we use adjectives such as “great,” we are falling into the trap of believing in the illusion of inferiority-superiority complex. Another stance would be that no person is better, more intelligent or different than you at soul level. You may simply find that certain points of view empower you to open your heart and mind differently.
Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Map said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 7:31 pm

Intelligence does not necessarily equate to wisdom. Formal education does not necessarily make one set for life. What matters is how you have applied the knowledge acquired, in pursuing the important goals in life. Here is where the perspectives come in. What is truly important should really be the ones that make you happy and to create the life you wants; rather than being enslaved to a job that you derive no more satisfaction than the dollar amount.

But most definitely, a change in perspectives and creative intelligence often come at a time when you are quiet and away from the mad rush of everyday life.

Evelyn
Evelyn Lim said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 7:33 pm

Intelligence does not necessarily equate to wisdom. Formal education does not necessarily make one set for life. What matters is how you have applied the knowledge acquired, in pursuing the important goals in life. Here is where the perspectives come in. What is truly important should really be the ones that make you happy and to create the life you wants; rather than being enslaved to a job that you derive no more satisfaction than the dollar amount.

But most definitely, a change in perspectives and creative intelligence often comes at a time when you are quiet and away from the mad rush of everyday life.

Evelyn
Brett Legree said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 7:54 pm

Clay,

This is why I’m glad I subscribed to your feed. For quite a few years, I allowed myself to be trapped by the POI.

But now, I am winning the battle for my mind. It just takes time.

Lately, it is when I’m running barefoot. Or on the weekend, when I was sitting in a park with the wind at my back. Only the sound of the wind, and my children playing.

It is amazing what comes to you in those times.
Amanda Linehan said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 8:20 pm

I agree that our minds need time to wander in order to be creative and come up with new ideas (or maybe just new perspectives on old ideas). I think this is why people feel like they are not getting anything done, because they are always doing something. Maybe there is another paradox here - the more “nothing” you do, the more creative you are!
Elizabeth said,

Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 9:43 pm

On the eve of first year law school finals this post makes me both excited for finals to over so I can reclaim my thoughts and totally freaked out because I’m in law school. I think I have my mind now(most of the time) - I’m afraid of losing it.
MonkMojo said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 12:43 am

Another killer post Clay. I read a lot of blogs, this is one of the few I study. I have nothing add to this fine piece, but I am motivated to show off my new avatar, and subscribe to the emailed comments.

PS -
This lynchpin you pulled in closing; beautiful.

“You have to spend time in a manner that would seem self-indulgent to most.”
Mark Krusen said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 2:13 am

I’ve added meditating to my day also. I haven’t been able to pin it down to a special time. But I have come to spend at least 20 minutes just sitting and doing nothing. I would lay down, but found myself falling asleep.LOL.

MonkMojo, I like the Avatar.
Paul Montwill | SwitchStories.com said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 2:19 am

Clay, this is what I lack! Perspective. I tend to organise every single minute of my life. I just don’t want to spoil it. I don’t think I will ever have free evenings. I just feel I waste me time if I do nothing…
Albert @ Headspace (http://thoughtsintime.co.za/) said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 7:48 am

Very nice post, Clay.

I have found that neither stressing or slacking gives me perspective. It is rather that elusive balance between them that gives birth to insight.

It is often in the periods of rest after intense mental effort that insight comes to me.

In the morning I work for a few hours before going for a walk with the my dogs. It is during that walk that the good ideas come.

Albert @ Headspace
http://thoughtsintime.co.za
David Bohm once said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 9:16 am

“This notion of INTELLIGENCE can be contrasted with INTELLECT.

“INTELLIGENCE acts as the key creative factor in the formation of new categories [of thought, knowledge and expression.] In this sense, Intelligence is the mind’s capacity to ‘read in between the lines,’ or to see ‘in between’ existing categories, and to create new categories.

“INTELLECT [however] is relatively fixed, for it is based primarily on an already existing scheme of categories.

“While intelligence is a dynamic and creative act of perception through the mind, the intellect is something more limited and static.

“This distinction can be highlighted by suggesting that the IQ test should be more properly said to measure an intellect quotient than an intelligence quotient.”

So, there’s part of the rub, huh?

I guess that’s Bohm’s polite way of saying people can think they’re very smart, can pride themselves on high IQs or PhDs and still be rather daft or even ignorant.

From the book:

Science, Order and Creativity by David Bohm and F. David Peat.

Bohm was a colleague of Albert Einstein. A major scientific figure himself. So he’s speaking from some rather deep experience of the high priesthood of science and industry.
Aaron Griffin said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 9:28 am

Sounds like SOMEONE has been listening to too much Flobots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u-dGvTpwSI
Vitor said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 11:10 am

Those thoughts are too dangerous to be read from a corporate-owned computer, but I’m doing it anyway ;)

I have found this paradox to be painfully true: the most productive times for me are the ones where I seem least active from an outside view. Lately, I’ve been so far away from this state of mind that the very memory of it has started to fade. It’s definitely time for a change.
Daniel Richard | Winning Everyone said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 11:11 am

Eye catching sub-point headers! We can’t hack perspective, but to build on them up.
Jay said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 11:35 am

I too have thought about the demands placed on intellgence before, and my overwhelming realization is that the perspective we so sorely need is just as much a catalyst for balance as it is a lifelong pursuit.

But here’s the funny part for me. The more time reinvested into my brain power, the more productive I become at work. This results in increaseed expectations, effectively snowballing the free time I just created for myself. Since leaving my office job is not an immediate option for me, that means I’ve actually had to slow the pace at which I get through my workday. I’m not sure what adverse effects that may have on my psyche and/or work ethic, but at the very least it gives me a chance to catch on your blog!

Keep up the good work.
The Financial Philosopher said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 12:40 pm

Emotional intelligence (EQ) matters more than IQ. This EQ and your “perspective” comes from self-awareness.

The real problem with us humans is that we do not combine our knowing with our doing. In school, we are taught to “talk smart” but are not taught to actually “do” anything. We are rewarded for talking smart by receiving praise for class participation and for finding clever ways to communicate old ideas on paper. What about the “doing” part?

Here’s some philosophy to add to your other wise thoughts:

“All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” ~ Basho
Clay Collins said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 1:07 pm

@Aaron: That’s a sweet video. Never seen it before.

@The Financial Philosopher: I absolutely love those quotations. Thank you for sharing.
JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You said,

Wrote on April 30, 2008 @ 2:04 pm

Clay,
This is an incredibly insightful post.
You can’t hack perspective - I love that line.

I like how you have managed to articulate something I’ve been feeling/sensing lately. It’s why I’ve been searching for some kind of balance. I DO find my best from unexpected sources…when my mind isn’t cluttered on the top notch performance of every intellectual task I have to perform on command everyday.

Those tasks are important but I wouldn’t say they are more important than the power of my own thoughts. I daresay those tasks can’t even happen without my downtime. Seriously.

I used to think that was a major flaw that I had. I would see some people be able to crank it out with seemingly no downtime at all. But I dont think that anymore and I would say this post helped validate that. Needing and cultivating my freedom of thought is an asset. I can give more, do more, create more.

Oh and Vagabonding huh :) That def. does sound like something you can read. Keep up the awesome writing Clay :)
Louise Pool said,

Wrote on May 1, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

You’ve done it again, Clay!

Wonderful article and I couldn’t agree more. Years ago, I read a book by Somerset Maughm called “The Razor’s Edge”. (I think there was a movie as well.) In it, the main character, Larry, refuses to work in any way where he would have to use his mind. He wanted his mind to be free, so chooses to take on odd jobs and “squander” his education. He spends a lot of time vagabonding around Europe. I was lucky enough to read this (and take it to heart) when I was a teenager and have been “vagabonding” in some way ever since.

I think there may be cultural pressures as well. Asians, for instance, are pressured to go into certain fields and “do well”. Women, in the push of feminism, were encouraged to join the professional/corporate world and make their mark.

Did you know that free state education was first provided by the Prussians with the explicit mandate of training obedient (un-thinking) people? I wonder if the objective has really changed much…
Louise Pool said,

Wrote on May 1, 2008 @ 3:26 pm

You’ve done it again, Clay!

Wonderful article and I couldn’t agree more. Years ago, I read a book by Somerset Maugham called “The Razor’s Edge”. (I think there was a movie as well.) In it, the main character, Larry, refuses to work in any way where he would have to use his mind. He wanted his mind to be free, so chooses to take on odd jobs and “squander” his education. He spends a lot of time vagabonding around Europe. I was lucky enough to read this (and take it to heart) when I was a teenager and have been “vagabonding” in some way ever since.

I think there may be cultural pressures as well. Asians, for instance, are pressured to go into certain fields and “do well”. Women, in the push of feminism, were encouraged to join the professional/corporate world and make their mark.

Did you know that free state education was first provided by the Prussians with the explicit mandate of training obedient (un-thinking) people? I wonder if the objective really has changed much, the armies of today being the corporations …
Jeff Cobb said,

Wrote on May 2, 2008 @ 4:45 am

Great post, Clay. I think to find fulfillment - which may or may not have anything to do with conventional ideas of success - people have to learn to take their learning into their own hands and free themselves from the chains forged by most academic and corporate approaches to learning. This absolutely requires perspective - as well as the discipline and courage to make time for that perspective. - Jeff
Marelisa said,

Wrote on May 2, 2008 @ 6:15 pm

Clay; I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one. I think it doesn’t have to do so much with brainpower (the more you have the more you’re likely to be “wasting it” working for a corporation or a law firm), but with your “mentality”. If you’re brilliant and you “get” that you should find a job only to get the experience necessary to go on to do your own thing, you’re probably going to do a lot better than the not-so-brilliant types. I spent a lot of years in school (BSBA, JD, and almost finished an MBA)and was a workaholic for about 5 years (I’m now a recovering workaholic), but I think it had more to do with societal conditioning that with IQ.
Chris said,

Wrote on May 2, 2008 @ 7:15 pm

People always ask me why teachers have a long summer vacation. My answers is that the two months actually is used for recuperation and a time to find creative ways to teach.

I have always known this but I could never articulate it as well as you had it here.
Klaus said,

Wrote on May 5, 2008 @ 1:09 pm

Sorry, Clay, this post is - eh, how to put it politely?

You do not “exhaust” your brainpower - this is nonsense. Even if you “exchange” your brainpower for money, you still have all your brainpower left. You do not run out of “brainpower”. Well, you might get tired, but that’s a different issue.

I argue that the issue with being a workoholic is just an issue of one-sided input. Similar to eat nothing else than hamburgers - it is not healthy. The trick is to provide your brain with alternative input, e.g. reading books (the stuff without the scroll bars at the side ;-), sports, listen to music (different styles!). The more intellectually challenging it gets, the more nutrition you get for brain…

From past experience I can tell that you can keep up with a highly demanding work environment or long working hours only if you are able to find your own balance and perspective - otherwise, you burn out in a few years.

And, yes, here you’re absolutely right: you can’t hack perspective.
Klaus
Michael Martine | Remarkablogger said,

Wrote on May 5, 2008 @ 9:12 pm

Wow, I liked you immediately when I met you at SOBCon, but I had no idea your blog was this good! I am so subscribed.
Jenny said,

Wrote on May 27, 2008 @ 6:51 pm

I understand exactly what you mean about thoughts coming to you when you don’t necessarily need them to. I vacationed recently in Colorado and while atop of a hill looking down into the valley and the river that was flowing through, I had some amazing ideas for blog topics. I was definitely not in the mindset to come up with these, yet here they were and they are good ones.

I had lost some perspective, or the ability to see different perspectives until I went on vacation, now I feel somewhat refreshed and ready to take another look at the world I’m in!

Great Post!
James Hall said,

Wrote on June 5, 2008 @ 2:26 am

Thanks Clay-
for your commitment to sanity & humanity. I’m “new here” & still a little unclear about your purpose or what inspired your interest in sharing your life experience with others. Some would say (not me of course) this is a form of “enlightened self interest” but your gain is mine in attempting a similar rabbit hole pursue-al of “enlightened self interests” which I refer to as “My” or “Mine” (a no dude/dudette is an island referral). It seems to me the way to selflessness (whatever that is) begins with selfishness. But that requires enormous strength (or pain). Someone named Karl Krause (from a library book on aphorisms I’m reading) wrote: “How powerful social mores are! Only a spider’s web lies across the volcano, yet it refrains from erupting”. He evidently started a periodical back in 1899 which attacked middle-class manners and morality, and took a “pyromaniac’s delight in setting blazes under society’s most sacred taboos.” One perspective I perpetually forget is that I’m living better than 99.9999% of the humanity that has proceeded me on this planet. Being naturally angst prone this reveals my N. American sense of entitlement - bringing that overfed, uncomfortable, gaseous feeling of my very own personal & enormous “bloated nothingness” (I’m talkin’ Elvis palatial Vegas style utopia bloat here}. A very short attempt follows at trying to be more humble and grateful for the utopia I’m living thru but can’t quite thoroughly enjoy. Thankfully it quickly passes so I can get on with this business of searching for more & more meaning or at least some kind of reasonably acceptable philosophical solace for “my” highly unlikely & quantum-ally questionable existence (after all I didn’t ask to come here in the first place, you know) .
Otherwise Clay, I surely would not know what else to do with my brief time here. My genetically gloomy & pessimistic outlook reminds me continually that nature doesn’t appear to allow too much happiness before it finally devours you in “the end”… & forevermore! (like totally weird man or what?… reincarnation???)
Your writing is excellent, keep it up! I feel that delicious elation on discovering “Wow, someone else on the planet thinks like I do!” Apparently we dropped out of different high schools together.
J
Diana Young said,

Wrote on June 18, 2008 @ 4:39 pm

Great post and best of all it makes me feel great about how I spend my day. No more driving to the office/hospital. No more bosses telling me what shade of pantyhose I’m allowed to wear. And I have time to read that vagabond book. Life is good.