Jon Acuff is someone I’ve followed for a while. I admire his tenacity to just keep writing and speaking even when he hits different roadblocks. He’s a super funny guy and most of his humor is directed at things he has thought or done. Acuff is really gifted at putting the reader at ease and his newest work, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking was a great read! I highlighted several things while reading and posted those notes below…
- Overthinking is when what you think gets in the way of what you want. It’s one of the most expensive things in the world because it wastes time, creativity, and productivity. It’s an epidemic of inaction, a tsunami of stuckness, and thirteen years ago it was dominating me. Location: 192
- You can turn overthinking into action. You can use all that reclaimed time, creativity, and productivity to create the life you want. And it starts with recognizing your thoughts for what they really are—a personal soundtrack for your life. Location: 221
- If you listen to any thought long enough, it becomes a part of your personal playlist. Location: 244
- If you can worry, you can wonder. If you can doubt, you can dominate. If you can spin, you can soar. Location: 353
- When you pick the soundtracks you listen to the most, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. Location: 488
- Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if we just asked our loudest soundtracks three quick questions to determine which ones we should listen to?
- Question 1: Is it true?
- One of the greatest mistakes you can make in life is assuming all your thoughts are true.
- Culture is just a collection of soundtracks playing consistently at a company.
- Ask the thought behind the thought these questions
- Question 2: Is it helpful?
- Is the soundtrack you’re listening to right now, the one that’s on repeat, helpful? Does it move you forward or keep you stuck? Does it lead to a decision or limit a decision? Does it generate action or apathy?
- Question 3: Is it kind?
- Is the soundtrack you’re listening to kind to yourself? After you listen to it a few times, do you feel better about yourself? Are you encouraged about your life and your opportunities?
- We assume we have to be tougher than that and have the resilience of a Navy SEAL, but what is resilience other than allowing yourself to begin again when things don’t go the way you expected the first time? Location: 647
- Question 1: Is it true?
- Broken soundtracks never evolve into new soundtracks on their own. That process is on us. We’re in charge of retiring the old ones and replacing them with brand-new ones. Location: 710