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- Positive thinking is overrated; positive doing is unavoidable
Positive thinking is overrated; positive doing is unavoidable
Act now, let mindset catch up later.
Mario Peshev
June 08, 2025
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Welcome to The Smarter Brain, a curation of thought-provoking ideas and actionable reads to help you build better habits and become more productive.
Happy reading - See you on Wednesday!
Cheers,
The Smarter Brain Team
Estimated Reading Time: 2 mins
3 Ideas for Better Habits
Seed a Thought, Harvest a Destiny
Scottish author and reformer, Samuel Smiles, on the ripple effect of intention.
“Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”
Act Your Way Into Confidence
Author and entrepreneur, Julien Smith, on building confidence through action.
“You can’t make yourself feel positive, but you can choose how to act, and if you choose right, it builds your confidence.”
Source: The Flinch
Apply or Forget: Practice-Powered Learning
Economist and thinker, Henry Hazlitt, on applied knowledge.
“The only way we could remember would be by constant re-reading, for knowledge unused tends to drop out of mind. Knowledge used does not need to be remembered; practice forms habits and habits make memory unnecessary. The rule is nothing; the application is everything.”
Source: Thinking as a Science
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Productivity Tools and Resources
Why You Feel the Urge to Clean Your Room Before Starting a Project
Explore ‘maladaptive perfectionism’ and dive into insights on overcoming procrastination linked to perfectionist tendencies.
Productivity Hacks That Aren’t ‘Toxic’
Learn how to differentiate between healthy productivity and toxic overworking from this article providing sustainable strategies for success.
What We're Reading
Dense Discovery - A weekly newsletter exploring mindful productivity, better habits, and intentional living - curated with a designer’s eye and a thinker’s mind. Insightful tools and ideas for doing better by doing less.
Brain Food
Today I Learned: Due to the low air pressure inside space suits, astronauts are unable to whistle while suited up. (Source)
Science: Out of all the water on Earth, only about 1% is accessible and suitable for human consumption. (Source)
Have a productive rest of your week,
The Smarter Brain Team
Resource Spotlight
Daily Wisdom, Practical Decisions, Inner Discipline
Stoic insights distilled into actionable daily choices - Seriously, It’s Simple is a call to clarity, urging thinkers, creators, and leaders to trade hesitation for principled action. This post strips away overthinking and reminds us that integrity, confidence, and character are forged through simple, repeated acts of doing what’s right.
Where Self-Improvement Meets Radical Acceptance
Grounded reflections on time, change, and personal growth dismantle the myth of the clean slate. With philosophical clarity and dry wit, Burkeman invites readers to confront their real lives - not escape them - offering a humane, unvarnished alternative to perfectionist productivity culture. Through gently subversive insights, this piece champions sustained action over reinvention, and honesty over illusion.
Small Steps, Big Impact
A crisp, thoughtful dispatch landing every Thursday, delivering three ideas, two quotes, and one question to help you turn reflection into action. Designed to spark deliberate habits, build character, and boost confidence through manageable daily practices you can apply right away.
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