Coincidence? I think not.

Have you ever coincidentally noticed something soon after you discussed, read about, or otherwise became aware of that same thing? For example, you are listening to an audio book and there is a chapter about stoicism, and then later that day you see book on that same topic. Or you hear about Brazilian jujitsu on a podcast and the next day, on a totally unrelated and very different podcast hear about Brazilian jujitsu. I am at this point convinced that these coincidences are infinite and abundant. I think that the only reason you see the second thing is because of the first, and in reality these things are all around you all the time and your brain just doesn't recognize them.

Now, I know that there are people out there who study such phenomenon and could explain this to me using science and studies. I like science and studies, but you know what really gives me the chills? When you realize something like this on your own. When it all slides into place and that light bulb goes off, that is what gets me going. It is just as much of an emotional and physical reaction as it is a mental one.

I was just listening to the part of Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss where Scott Adams talks about affirmations. My understanding of how it works is as follows. If I want to write a book then at some point in the day I would write "I (insert name here) am going to write a book this year" in a specific spot, ten or fifteen times. Then, miraculously, all these opportunities about writing books seem to show up out of thin air. Hearing this is what made it all click for me. You only see that second thing by coincidence because you saw the first thing. If you hadn't experienced the first thing, you may not have even noticed the second despite it definitely being there. The affirmations are a form of using this to your advantage, programming your brain.

In what ways do we program our brains to do unhelpful or unproductive things, without even realizing it? Now knowing what you know, how will you apply it to your advantage?