Thought Of The Week

Douglas Silas
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Thought Of The Week

  1. May 31

    THE MORE YOU CHASE A FORGOTTEN THOUGHT, THE MORE IT RUNS AWAY...

    Today, I want to talk to you about why the more you chase a forgotten thought, the more it runs away from you. I've noticed this happens to me constantly, and I'm guessing it happens to you, too. The moment you start chasing a thought that you have or want to remember, you've already lost and you have forgotten it. That tight, desperate grip we place on our memory sometimes only pushes it further away. The harder we squeeze, the more it escapes. It's really frustrating and irritating, isn't it? This is because your mind usually works better when you're not interrogating it. It's almost as though focusing conscious attention on a blank space makes it deeper, whereas you've got to stop looking to actually find it. There's something almost spiritual about letting go. It's not laziness, it's just knowing when to step back and realising that the best way through sometimes isn't always pushing straight ahead. Here are some examples: 1. You're mid-sentence talking to someone new and, even though they just told you it, their name just vanishes. You search and search your brain, feeling foolish. Then you're buttering toast later and suddenly there it is. 2. That song you always loved plays constantly in your head, but, try as you might, for the life of you, you just can't remember its title. You hum it obsessively for days, getting nowhere. Then one morning, it just appears in your mind without warning. 3. Your keys. You've lost them again! You ransack the house frantically, growing more panicked. You stop, breathe, and give up the search, then spot them on the windowsill immediately. Some will always argue that you need discipline and deliberate practice to strengthen memory. They're not entirely wrong: focused study does help sometimes. But there's a real difference between learning something new and recovering something already known. So, today, try to notice when you're gripping too tightly at a thought. Loosen your hold, breathe, and let it breathe and remember that the more you chase a forgotten thought, the more it runs away from you!

    THE MORE YOU CHASE A FORGOTTEN THOUGHT, THE MORE IT RUNS AWAY...

  2. May 31

    LASTING HABITS DEVELOP THROUGH CONSISTENT PRACTICE…

    Today, I want to talk about how lasting habits only develop through consistent practice. Strangely, you don't always need motivation or determination to achieve something; you simply need to show up, sometimes day after day, and do the same thing, no matter how small that thing is. Over the years, I've discovered through trial and error, that it’s usually the tiny repeated actions which compound into significant and real change. Our brains are endlessly adaptable, and every time we repeat something, the neural pathways in our brain and body become stronger. Before you know it, that behaviour becomes second nature. A good example is learning a new language or musical instrument. If you study something new like this for just 10 minutes daily, you find your competence builds naturally and you become more expert at it, without even noticing it happening. Here are some other examples: 1. Try to start your morning with just 10 minutes or so of gentle stretching or movement and within days or weeks you will find that you feel physically different in the mornings, as your body will remember what it has enjoyed doing. 2. Try to write just a few hundred words daily, and you find over time that your writing improves in ways that feel almost magical. The pages that you write will also accumulate faster than you'd ever believe. 3. Try calling someone you care about weekly, and you soon find that your relationship with them becomes richer and more real; any distance usually disappears when you stay consistently connected with someone. However, it is really important to stress that some people argue that this type of approach sometimes ignores practical circumstances or genuine hardship. Not everyone has the luxury of stability, that can support a routine. Additionally, life is sometimes chaotic and time isn't always within our control. So, today, remember that showing up consistently can often transform everything for you, but remember also that the truth is messy sometimes, as some days you'll miss your practice. If that happens, the only thing that matters is returning, as lasting habits only develop through consistent practice!

    LASTING HABITS DEVELOP THROUGH CONSISTENT PRACTICE…

  3. May 31

    FOCUS ON ONLY NOW SOMETIMES…

    Today, I want to talk about how focusing solely on the present may not always be a smart strategy. It's essential to prevent distractions from affecting you when you need to focus, but sometimes, to prevent yourself from being distracted more, you actually need to allow a brief distraction! We often hear people say that we need to be present, be mindful, or only live in the moment. However, whilst this is sound theoretically, trying to adhere practically to this without fail, can be both exhausting and counterproductive. Your mind needs space to breathe, plan, and imagine, and being trapped entirely in the present sometimes prevents you from building something worthwhile for tomorrow. Yes, the moment now is important, probably quite profoundly, but you can't focus all the time. Balance is crucial in these situations. You have to do your best to position yourself where you can focus without losing perspective, but you also have to allow yourself to be distracted by something that will benefit you in the long run. Here are some examples: 1. You may be focused on deep work when a brilliant idea strikes you. It's vital to jot it down quickly before diving back in, as this allows you to develop that idea properly later, when you have the mental space to do it proper justice. 2. You might find worries about the next week surfacing, whilst you are concentrating on something else. You need to write them down and release them. Knowing that you've captured them helps clear your mind to settle properly into the present again. 3. You may be in a meeting, when personal ideas surface, or relaxing with family, when work ideas appear, both out of context. You need to capture them quickly if possible and then rejoin the moment, genuinely, to unburden yourself. You must also do this without guilt, mental clutter, or distraction. Some argue that this kind of approach weakens true presence or mindfulness. That's fair enough, but in my experience, balance, as I've described, works better than extremes, as you won’t achieve anything without focus, but you also won't achieve anything, without allowing yourself to drop out of focus sometimes. So today, try to remember that true focus means respecting both now and later equally; neither trumps the other. Ultimately, remember that sometimes you must not only focus on now, but sometimes you must also focus only on something else!

    FOCUS ON ONLY NOW SOMETIMES…

  4. May 31

    DON'T FIX SOMETHING THAT ISN'T BROKEN...

    Today, I want to talk to you about why you can't fix something that isn't broken. Most things in life aren't broken. They're just not perfect. And not perfect doesn't need fixing. That's the wisdom. Here's the thing: we're always so obsessed with improving everything all the time. Self-help books, productivity apps, life coaches—they're everywhere, telling us to upgrade, refine, and optimise every single part of our existence. But I've learned something over time that's genuinely changed how I live: when something actually works, the smartest thing you can usually do is to just leave it completely alone. Full stop. Most tinkering just creates problems you probably didn't have before and probably also didn't need. Think about it. At work, at home, in your relationships, how many times have you actually wrecked something that was working perfectly well before, all because you thought you could make it better or more impressive? Here are some examples: 1. Your morning routine is solid. You wake at seven, shower, have coffee, eat something, and leave by eight-thirty for school or work. Never rushed. But then you read something about morning rituals being good for you, so you add things like meditation, journaling, and cold showers into your morning routine. Within a week, you're now stressed, skipping things, and late! 2. Your team has a working system. Email, spreadsheets, file management - everyone knows what they're doing and how to do it. Deadlines happen. Then management introduces new 'better' software, which it says will help and do everything quicker and make everyone more productive. Six months in, still nobody properly understands it, nothing really works anymore, and everyone, including management, are all less productive and frustrated. 3. Your finances are stable. Money comes in, bills get paid, you save a bit, you sleep well. Then you hear how you need to budget very carefully, so you try to optimise every expense obsessively. Suddenly, you're tracking everything minutely. You then sleep worse because you're constantly worrying and then enjoy almost nothing as a result. Now, I'm not saying that you can never improve anything. Obviously, if something is genuinely broken or actually failing you, fix it. Go ahead. But the thing that actually matters is knowing the difference between something that's genuinely broken and something that's simply not perfect. So, today, remember to resist that urge to tinker with what's already working properly. As people say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Let the good things stay good and remember that you can't fix something that isn't broken!

    DON'T FIX SOMETHING THAT ISN'T BROKEN...

  5. May 31

    DON'T BE TOO DRASTIC WITH THINGS YOU DO.

    Today, I want to talk about why dramatic change usually disappoints and you therefore shouldn't try to be too drastic with things you do. It's really tempting sometimes to overhaul everything in your life at once, but sustained progress normally only comes from measured steps. Does this sound familiar? You tell yourself that, starting today, you'll be someone new, or do something new. Or you promise yourself you’ll now do all the things you’ve been avoiding.  However, days, weeks, months, and even years pass by, and you may find that you haven’t really changed anything. Think about the last time you tried something radical. More often, the dramatic approach crumbles under pressure, as it fights against natural habits. Even though you may have initially altered your behaviour, you usually discover you have just returned to your old ways. Counterintuitively, the problem isn’t willpower. Life has a rhythm to it. When we rush too quickly into drastic or significant changes,  we overlook the delicate balance we've gradually built up. Moderation normally wins over extremism, which just exhausts. The truth is simple: incremental change sticks. Explosive transformation rarely does. Small adjustments also compound into remarkable results over time. Here are some examples: Trying to go from zero exercise to intense daily workouts just leaves you injured and discouraged. Personal trainers joke about people who join gyms in January but drop out by the end of the month. Instead, start with just ten minutes of gentle exercise, three times a week.Completely overhauling your diet overnight ends in failure, leaving you miserable. Cutting out all sugar and processed food too quickly also feels like punishment. However, if you swap one thing at a time, change is more permanent. By adding just one healthy habit each week, real changes unfold.Quitting social media cold turkey just triggers anxiety and isolation, leading to loneliness, and you crave connection. Deleting everything completely backfires, leading to FOMO as well.  But if you start using social media for just twenty minutes less per day, you wean yourself off any addiction. Gradually reduce screen time for lasting results. Some people always argue that radical action produces faster results, and sometimes it does. However, most people who go all in just end up right back where they started. Slow and consistent change over time has staying power, as how many radical transformations actually last in the long run? So today, remember to take steady steps forward, instead of leaping into transformation. Dramatic starts usually lead to dramatic stops. Sustainable progress is built on consistency, not intensity. Don't be too drastic - the story of the tortoise and the hare isn’t just a children’s tale!

    DON'T BE TOO DRASTIC WITH THINGS YOU DO.

  6. May 31

    DEADLINES MAKE YOU DO THINGS

    Today, I want to talk about why having deadlines makes you do things. Without deadlines, and having a fixed date to comply with, or real consequences, mean we can sometimes drift, and days, weeks and even months and years can pass by quickly, without anything to show for it. Counterintuitively, limited time yields more output. It seems backwards, but it's so real; I've experienced it. A blank calendar somehow breeds procrastination and doubt, whereas having a firm deadline breeds results. I’ve yet to meet a genuinely successful person who doesn’t organise their life around deadlines. Go on, think about your best work. I mean, truly your best work. The odds are that it was probably created under time pressure. When you have a deadline, something clicks. You stop just talking about plans and start actually executing them. This pattern is usually consistent, no matter what you do. There’s something about a ticking clock that just makes you cut through the noise. You stop overthinking; you stop revising endlessly; you stop trying to perfect details that nobody else will notice, and you just ship your work instead. Here are some examples: - Students usually deliver their sharpest essays when preparing them the night before submission deadlines. The urgency of that deadline strips away all hesitation and somehow forces their best thinking onto the page. - Similarly, you find that journalists write stronger stories when editors demand them by the next morning. That constraint forces a narrative, whereas endless time means conducting more research and going down rabbit holes. - You also find that athletes perform objectively better in timed races than during training. There is something about the starting gun and finishing line that creates an intensity that solitary effort cannot replicate. However, this doesn’t mean that pressure is always healthy; some people freeze under time constraints, rather than thrive as I’ve described. Additionally, having infinite deadlines with no breathing room often burns people out and degrades their work. Deadlines and their application require wisdom about pacing and recovery. So today, remember that deadlines, whether externally-imposed or self-imposed, aren’t always burdens. They can be used proactively by you as catalysts for doing the work you have to do, because deadlines make you do things!

    DEADLINES MAKE YOU DO THINGS

  7. May 31

    JUST PICK ONE EXTRA THING TO DO EVERY DAY…

    Today, I want to talk about why just doing one extra thing every day can transform your entire approach to living. Ironically, this is especially important when you already feel that you're doing so much that you can't find time to do something else! I get it - work, family, and other responsibilities never seem to end. But what if you do just one extra action daily? When you deliberately find time to do one extra thing you've been meaning to do, but never seem to find time for, slowly, you will free up more time for other things. If you just do that one extra thing today, it doesn't require a complete life overhaul. Just like with consistency, doing one extra thing daily builds quietly. Weeks pass, and you soon realise that you have become someone slightly different—someone who follows through on things. One small task to tick off your list; not from obligation, but from choice. That’s where the real change happens. If you do this, you’ll also notice how your intention shifts everything. When you choose deliberately to do that one extra thing, you gradually feel you're not drowning in tasks. Instead, you feel like you’re just committing to something more concrete, and you don't feel overwhelmed. Your brain also believes unconsciously that you are succeeding more in some way, and because it believes this, you usually succeed. The power is in the doing, not doing something perfectly, just doing it. Here are some examples: - If you call someone you haven't spoken to in months, it reconnects you meaningfully with them and also reminds both them and you that they genuinely matter to you. - If you take just 15 minutes a day to relax, or go for a walk, without your phone, it quietens your mind and improves your overall well-being, which genuinely resets your nervous system. - If, every day, you write just one paragraph in a journal, or a few hundred words of a story, not only will it help you process emotions and thoughts, but you will also end up writing far more over time than you thought you could. But on some days, I know that you can feel completely exhausted, so adding anything more to your list just feels impossible. That's a totally valid response. Your energy isn't infinite, and pushing yourself when empty ,won't help you in the long run. Sometimes, rest is actually that extra thing you need. So today, remember to try to pick just one extra thing to do every day. If you do this, you will soon find that quietly small actions also create lasting change. That’s exactly the reason why you should do it daily, because it truly matters to you in the long run!

    JUST PICK ONE EXTRA THING TO DO EVERY DAY…

  8. May 31

    SOME PEOPLE ARE LARGER THAN LIFE…

    Today, I want to talk about how you find that some people you know are larger than life sometimes. They’re the type of people who can immediately make everybody around them feel completely at ease, through genuine kindness, humour and often self-deprecation. Have you ever noticed those people who seem to be able to walk into a room of strangers and immediately become everybody’s friend? They’re actually quite rare and, unfortunately, you sometimes don’t fully realise this, or say this out loud, until you don’t have them around anymore. You know the sort of person I’m talking about - that person who is one of the kindest and funniest people that you will ever meet in life, who would do anything for anybody at any time, and who somehow brings constant joy into your and others’ lives when they’re around. Watch carefully when they enter a room; you see otherwise closed people open up, and everybody feel better. But, if you look more deeply, you also see that these characters have an unspoken and unshakable belief in what truly matters, and they are very principled and stand up for what is right. Here are some examples: - There are some people who automatically and consistently oppose oppression or discrimination of any kind and will always speak up, when silence seems safer. Doing this openly also teaches others to claim their voice and speak their truth, without apology. - There are some people who also refuse to be stereotyped, or to live in cages that society puts around them. Their philosophy then fundamentally changes how people perceive them and others like them, and this helps others understand their perspective and respect them more. - And there are some people who constantly reinvent themselves, rather than just repeating previous versions of themselves. This then allows future generations to push further and embrace their ideas. However, there’s often a hidden cost for people like this that we don’t see. Whilst they’re always busy smiling and doing so much for others, they also sacrifice their own time, and when they do get time to eventually relax, ironically, they’re sometimes taken earlier than expected - it just doesn’t make sense. So today, please remember to treasure the time you get to spend with anyone like this who you know and who are larger than life, and also remember, people who are truly large in their life also understand something essential: authenticity wins every time! *Written in memory of my good friend, Mark Nevies, who was recently taken away suddenly and tragically from both his family and friends. Mark was a very special man, who helped so many people, and who genuinely left the world a better place than when he arrived.*

    SOME PEOPLE ARE LARGER THAN LIFE…
See All (213)

About

Thought Of The Week

Information

  • Creator
    Douglas Silas
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    213
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Douglas Silas
  • Show Website
    Thought Of The Week