Why I Want to Be Slightly Less Stupid Than Yesterday

Good goals are important

Image: Goodreads

You are Now Less Dumb is my favorite book title. The book goes over common psychological tricks we all fall for and how to avoid them.

The title sounds a little weird. But, if you think about it, it’s a great goal. We should all strive to be a little less dumb.

We are all “dumb” about something. There is simply too much information out there for anyone to know everything.

Becoming smart is a lousy goal for two reasons.

1. Being smart is too subjective. There is an unlimited amount of information out there. At what point do you know enough to be considered smart?
2. Thinking that you’re smart makes it easy to fall into the trap of not getting smarter. No matter how smart you get, you should still be shooting for improvement.

Trying to be less dumb solves both these problems.

First, it’s much easier to measure since it’s less subjective. If you know more today than yesterday, then you are less dumb.

Second, acknowledging the ways you are “dumb” encourages you to learn more. And learning more is never a bad idea.