3 Ways to Think Clearly
Your Mind Is Lying to You
Three ways to make better decisions before AI, outrage, and overconfidence make them for you
Here is an uncomfortable truth:
You are probably not as rational as you think you are.
Neither am I, and I teach philosophy!
I can explain logical fallacies, quote Aristotle, and still turn an unanswered email into a minor existential crisis.
Intelligence does not prevent foolishness. Sometimes it just gives foolishness a better vocabulary.
AI makes this more complicated. It can provide a polished answer in seconds. But a polished answer can still be wrong. Wisdom is not having more answers. It is knowing when to pause, whom to trust, and what to do next.
Here are three practices I use with students, leaders, clients, and myself.
1. Name the movie playing in your head
Your boss has not answered your email.
That is the fact.
“She is angry with me” is the story.
“She has never respected me, my career is over, and I should update LinkedIn” is the feature film your brain produced after midnight.
The mind is a magnificent storyteller. Unfortunately, it sometimes writes fiction and files it under nonfiction.
When emotions take over, ask:
What happened—and what am I adding to what happened?
Your spouse says, “We need to talk.”
Those words are data. The apocalypse you experience during the next eleven seconds is not.
Write down:
The facts are: ______
The story I am telling myself is: ______
Naming the story does not make it disappear. It simply reminds you that you are the storyteller—not the helpless audience.
2. Borrow someone else’s Mind
When you are trapped inside your own thinking, do not think harder.
Borrow another brain.
Find someone honest enough to disagree with you and secure enough not to enjoy it too much.
Ask:
What am I not seeing?
This is especially important when you are excited, angry, afraid, or in love—four conditions under which the human brain becomes a highly paid attorney for a very questionable client.
Scripture says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22).
Not every adviser deserves a vote. Ask someone who possesses wisdom, relevant experience, and no need to flatter you.
And when they challenge you, resist the urge to explain why they do not understand.
They may understand perfectly.
3. Make the next decision smaller
We often remain stuck because we think we must solve the entire future today.
Should I change careers?
Should I launch the business?
Should I write the book?
Should I marry this person?
No wonder your brain wants to lie down.
Instead, ask:
What is the smallest honest step I can take next?
Do not decide whether to build the entire company. Speak with three potential customers.
Do not decide whether you can write a book. Write one page tomorrow morning.
Do not predict whether the relationship will last forever. Have the conversation you have been avoiding.
Clarity often arrives after movement, not before it.
This is why “I’m still thinking about it” can become a respectable way of saying, “I’m afraid.”
You do not need the entire map.
You need the next faithful step.
So when your mind is noisy and AI has given you seventeen confident answers, remember:
Name the story.
Borrow a brain.
Take the next step.
AI can generate options, arguments, summaries, and plans. It can even sound like a philosophy professor after three espressos.
But it cannot take responsibility for your life.
That remains your job.
Think clearly. Stop Whining. Then live accordingly.
Khaldoun A. Sweis, PhD
Philosophy Professor, Humanities Chair, Investor, Author & Executive Life Coach
Logically Faithful
