A short podcast episode (Optimize plus one) in which Brian Johnson explains the concept of "neutral thinking" to his son Emerson using a personal anecdote about chickens pooping under their patio. Johnson contrasts negative thinking (complaints) and positive thinking (dishonest minimization) with neutral thinking (acknowledge the problem, ask what can be done) and offers a practical fix (limit access and install chicken wire).
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson. More wisdom in less time.
Hi, this is Brian.
Hi, this is Emerson.
Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Plus one. In our last plus one, we spent some more time with Trevor Moad and explored some more wisdom from his great book, It Takes what It Takes. As you may recall, we chatted about neutral thinking. As Trevor says, no matter where I work, the same truth keeps emerging. Neutral thinking is the key to unlocking a set of behaviors that can turn also rands into champions and champions into legends. Today, I want to bring that wisdom to life with a little personal example from the Johnson ranch here outside Austin. So as I was reading the book, I took a break and explained this idea to Emerson. Here's the example I used. Our chickens and their poop. Do we have some issues with them?
Yes.
Quick context. As we've discussed, we just moved to the country and we got some chickens because we thought they'd be awesome. And they are. The kids love them, huh? Yes. They pretty cool.
Yeah.
You like your girls? Yeah. And your big boy?
Yes.
And those guys and those gals and guy sure know how to poop. And they seem to especially love to do their work under our beautiful back patio where I often meditate in the morning as the sun's rising. Let's just say that the meditation scene is slightly less idyllic with the chicken poop wafting up. So back to the book. I told Emerson that the guy who wrote that book had a dad who was really into all this stuff and taught him a bunch of stuff when he was a kid. I smiled and rubbed his awesome little head as I imagined what he might have to say in a few decades. That's pretty cool. Then we talked about the difference between negative thinking, positive thinking, and what?
Neutral thinking.
Neutral thinking. I gave him an example of my own negative thinking as it related to those chickens and their poop. Note. That's always one of the best ways to deliver a message. Start with your own shortcomings, don't start with someone else's. Remember the chicken poop? Now, my negative thinking went something like this. What was it?
Chicken poop stinks.
Chicken poop stinks? Yes. Why do they have to poop under our porch? Why do they need to poop when they hang out? Yeah, I think we might need to find a new home for them or something. Now, he might have heard me say something along those lines more than once in my less enlightened moment. So the example was quickly understood. Negative thinking. Then I told him that the positive thinking would go something like what?
It doesn't smell that bad.
It doesn't smell that bad. Chickens are great.
Who cares?
Was that real? No. No. You knew that that wasn't being honest and wouldn't be the optimal approach. Then I told him that neither of those approaches was as effective as neutral. How would neutral thinking go?
Yeah, chickens are does stink. What can I do about it?
Yeah, the chickens are pooping under the patio. It stinks. The kids love them and we need a better solution. So what can I do about it? Exactly, buddy. I said let's limit their access to that location and figure out a poop control protocol. Next step, order some chicken wire for the bottom of the patio and install it. Boom. Done. You got it immediately, huh?
Yes.
Yeah, and he still has his chickens. So today's plus one. Do you have any chicken poop in your life? If you feel so inspired, let's run it through a quick analysis. What's the negative thinking you might be running on it? How about the positive thinking? And what about the neutral thinking? Neutral thinking. How can you think about it neutrally? All of which leads us back to Trevor's dad. You know what he taught him as a kid? To get rid of the stinkin thinkin', which seems particularly appropriate for our example. Let's do that today. And please wish us luck with the chickens. Pretty funny. Anything else you want to share about neutral thinking?
Nope.
Feel pretty complete. Yes. Me too. Have an awesome day. See ya.
See ya.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optimize with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me.
