The 2-hour rule | Applying the genius of Einstein and Nietzsche (4 min. read)

in #life7 years ago

hour.jpg

Hi Steemians! Today, I'll be sharing another strategy to sharpen your mind. I have heard of this rule a few times, but I only discovered the importance of it yesterday.

I was not able to go on Steemit yesterday because I was lining up to get two (2) government ID's that I need for my upcoming employment (wish me luck!). Despite setting up an appointment and printing my application form beforehand, I still had to wait for hours and hours falling in line.

Even back when I was unemployed, I still made good use of my time (blogging, taking online courses) - so being stuck in line without Internet access was a little annoying.

htbapp.JPGBut still - I had my book with me, so I read my book as I patiently waited for my number to be called. I kept reading, absorbing as much value as I can from the book.

I kept reading, beginning to think about how I can apply the principles. I was able to understand what the author is trying to tell the readers. More importantly, I began to daydream.

Hey, Daydreamer

"Albert Einstein was 16 years old when he first flirted with the idea of special relativity. He was a daydreamer."

Most of society's groundbreaking ideas came up during idle times. Rene Descartes was just lying around on the bed when he noticed a fly roaming around his room. He began to wonder how he could tell the exact position of the fly. Soon after, he realized that the position of the fly can be described by its distance from the walls. Voila, the Cartesian plane was born.

newton.JPGIsaac Newton, the dude who discovered gravity, was just sitting under a tree until an apple hit his head. You know what happened next.

The Two Hour Rule

Knowing this concept, we must let our minds free once in a while. While waiting in line, not only was I able to jot down loads of ideas in my planner, I also used the time to create short-term and long-term plans. Zat Rana, one of the top authors of Medium.com, challenges us to block out two hours per week just to think.

I call it - purposeful daydreaming. Nietzsche attributed much of his ideas to the many hours spent just letting his mind wander. He reportedly "strolled around in nature for hours and hours on end to make sense of his ideas." It's not that he was "idle"; he was intentionally daydreaming, but with a purpose in mind.

Of course, daydreaming is not enough; it is just the beginning of something new. Outside of your two hours, you should be executing and hustling based on what you set yourself to do in those two hours.

nophone.pngNo gadgets, no electronics, no distractions - just you and your goals

It is not necessary that you take two hours to do this. Our minds work differently. Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, says that he only needs his shower time and airplane trips to "daydream" and find inspiration for his new ideas. But if you want to challenge yourself - make it two hours.

If you can spend long hours on Facebook, why not spend some hours creating your own personal mission statement? Why not set your personal goals for the week? Then maybe go back to Facebook ;)

I hope that this article has inspired you to take some time and review your goals. Comment down below - what was the last big idea that you had?

ALSO if you are interested in the book that I mentioned, I will be writing a book summary of Be a People Person by John Maxwell on my Steemit blog after I finish reading the whole thing, with the hopes that you learn something from it :)

If you have found value in this blog, please give an upvote / resteem - it would really mean a lot to me and it helps other steemians get value from this as well :) Otherwise, please do give a feedback on how my future posts can be improved! Either way, thank you for reaching the end of this post, and please follow my account as I'll be creating more articles like this. 'Til next time :D


Sources:
[1] Zat Rana's Two Hour Challenge
[2] Descartes and the Fly
[3] Gary Vaynerchuk, #AskGaryVee

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Your article is good, it deserves an upvote. Keep up the good work.

thank you, means a lot that you said that

as always, very helpful @cbcheng

Thank you

Took me more then half hour to read and understand. Good post

hmmm.. i guess it's not just a 4 min. read. thank you!

Welcome to Steem Community @cbcheng! As a gentle reminder, please keep your master password safe. The best practise is to use your private posting key to login to Steemit when posting; and the private active key for wallet related transactions.

In the New Steemians project, we help new members of steem by education and resteeeming their articles. Get your articles resteemed too for maximum exposure. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch

Absolutely important to go off-world and follow the inner spectacle :-)


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Thank you

A great reminder and also inspiration for me to try to free my mind for a while. That almost never happens but I think it might be good for us all to do so:-)

Thanks. I'm glad that it brought value to you :)

Well written and informative. Thank you for posting this. Steem On! :)

Hi @cbcheng! Great post! Yeah I agree. It's not bad to take a rest sometimes. It can generate some ideas in our minds so when we get busy again, we can write something on steemit :) haha

YES I also use this time to think of a new post for steemit :)

Thank you for such inspirational words or wisdom @cbcheng, I'm forever grateful that I decided to hit the follow button of your profile a while ago. These words will not fall on deaf ears as I'm pleased to have laid eyes on this post. Keep on steeming my fellow steemiteer and peace and blessing be with you.

#circleoffriends

There's so much heart in this comment, I really appreciate it.

Lots of good/right pointers to ponder. :)

Very good stuff to consider, good reminders too.

Thank you :D

Thanks for the great post, and best of luck with your upcoming employment :)

Awesome, thank you!

Thank you for awesome effort

Thank you

@cbcheng got you a $1.94 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice!
@cbcheng got you a $1.94 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)


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What will not kill you now will kill you later.

what do you mean? :/

Nietzche said something like that but there are a few minor adjusments to what he should have said.

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