Don’t Believe Everything You Think

1. Does joy, fulfillment, and peace always seem just out of reach?

2. Do you try to fix yourself or do you try to understand yourself?

3. What do you think of the idea that most of your yearnings stem from a desire to experience certain feelings? Does focusing on the feelings themselves change your perception of your desires in any way?

4. Is it true that truth cannot be intellectualized and can only be experienced?

5. What might you let go of which would create new possibilities in your life? Have you ever been able to let go of the story that you didn’t want to keep reliving?

6. What do you think of the author’s description of the difference between pain and suffering? Is how we react to pain up to us?

7. Do you find the idea about the root cause of our suffering being our own thinking to be helpful? Should the book have been one page so that we could avoid overthinking?

8. If we are enough as we are, do we need to keep reading self-growth material that tells us this? How many reminders do we need before we will believe it?

9. If you hate a job, is it just because you’re thinking you hate the job? Is it usually or always within your power to stop hating it?

10. What did you think of the author’s distinction between thoughts and thinking? Is it true that thoughts just pop up but thinking about the thoughts is what is in our control? (Or are nearly all of our thoughts subjective to begin with rather than neutral observations that then lead to judgments?)

11. The author initially seems to claim that our natural state is fight or flight and wanting to avoid being ostracized as a product of our evolution, but later he claims that our natural state is joy, love, and peace. Is there a contradiction in this? What is our natural state?

12. If thinking is the problem, is mindless entertainment and things we often label as distractions underrated as paths to joy and peace?

13. Is it true that we are only ever one moment away from remembering that we always have in our possession an infinite well of clarity, love, joy, and peace?

14. Is asking yourself “Is this thinking making me feel the way I want?” something that could be helpful to you? What about “Thinking is the root cause of suffering”?

15. The author mentions the idea of trusting yourself that you will be okay no matter what happens. Would this be a true thought? Does peace and joy require an unrealistic assessment of life?

16. When are you fully captivated and entranced by what you’re doing in the moment? Are you fully in the moment right now or are you annoyed with how loud it is in here, annoyed by my questions, or annoyed by the person sitting next to you?

17. What do you think of the author’s distinction between goals created out of inspiration and goals created out of desperation? Do your goals often feel more like a calling or an obligation? Do you often talk yourself out of pursuing your goals? Do you feel pressure to have goals which will be seen as worthy and acceptable to others?

18. If you had infinite money, no fear, and didn’t feel the need to receive any recognition, what would you do or create? What have you always wanted to do but haven’t had time or are afraid to do?

19. What do you think of the idea that nothing is either good or bad, that there are no wrong decisions in life? Even if you disagree with this sentiment, do you still see a way that you can use this idea in a way that would be helpful to you?

20. Is it true that most of the time we already known deep down what to do? How often do you trust your intuition? The author seems to think that our intuition is always right, but have you ever experienced your intuition being wrong and leading you astray? If our intuition is always right or even usually right, is it best that we avoid advice from others and learn to trust ourselves (making decisions from your intuition and also based on what feels most expansive and aligned with who you are and what you value most)?

    • The author goes on to say that this does not mean we should not use our intellect, logic, and reason. Rather, it is about using them without negative judgment and trusting our intuitive decisions. Does this make it difficult to understand what intuition is? Am I overthinking it or are there are too many words in the book explaining how to stop thinking and trust my intuition?

21. Do you fear change? Are you able to relax into uncertainty, surrendering to the ebbs and flows of life and accepting things as they are instead of how you think they should be?

22. What did you think of the author’s story about how he would always give his wife reasons for why he loves her, but she would say that she didn’t know why she loves him (that she just did)? Do you prefer to get a list of reasons from your partner of why they love you, or do you prefer that they tell you they just love you and they don’t know why? Does the latter indicate a more unconditional love? Is the author unrealistic in saying that his love for his wife is not conditional on her specific traits or actions? Even if unrealistic, is this kind of unrealistic love still something worth aiming towards?

23. The author often discusses fears that might be rooted in thoughts about how others perceive us or thoughts about how we perceive ourselves. But, are some fears simply a matter of anxiety surrounding wanting more of what we want and less of what we don’t want (which could range from silly things to the most serious of things)? In other words, are some fears valid and not easy to philosophize our way out of?

24. Do you have morning rituals to help you align with your highest self and to help you create momentum in your day?

25. Should I toss away this book, ignore all advice given, and simply trust my intuition?