“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” – Yogi Berra
This was part of the driving directions to Yogi Berra’s house in Montclair, New Jersey. Oddly, the directions were correct.
See, Yogi lived in the center of a circular road. When you came to the fork in the road, it didn’t matter whether you chose the right or left direction. They both took you to the same place in the same amount of time.
Life is full of Zen-like instructions.
They fall into the category of mastering the mental game. The game we play in our heads.
The best performers know that with confidence, concentration, and focus, along with blocking out distractions, the most remarkable things can be achieved.
It is all about “clear thinking.”
Critical thinking is clear, reasoned thinking.
When I have a decision to make, I most often combine emotional thinking with critical thinking, thereby justifying my decision. And when I examine my thought process in a decision, I often find that I’ve made an emotional decision and rationalized it with critical thinking.
In other words, I make excuses. Sometimes the excuses are good. Sometimes they aren’t so good.
The only thing standing between me and my goals are the excuses I make as to why I cannot achieve them.
The comfort in all of this is that good judgment comes from bad experiences developed by a lot of past bad judgment.