September 14, 2024

Many of us don’t feel the flow of time or notice it passing by. But when you look around, you’ll see people with the same amount of time doing great things—working on something new, building incredible projects. Yet, the number of such people is small, let’s say around five percent or even less. Since childhood, I’ve always wondered: "Why do people with the same brains fail to recognize patterns and opportunities like those in that five percent group?"

It’s like asking why only Newton noticed the apple falling and questioned why it fell, which led to a chain of thoughts culminating in the concept of gravity. Of course, people before Newton had thought about gravity. A regular person walking past an apple tree might have wondered why the apple falls, even without knowing the physics or mathematics to explore and understand the phenomenon. But the difference is that this person would simply walk away after briefly thinking about it, likely forgetting the thought and moving on with their daily routine. Some may have tried to think about it later but gave up when the idea became too complex. Others may have reached a conclusion but hit a mental roadblock and abandoned it.

Newton, however, pursued the problem relentlessly. He invented an entire branch of mathematics just to understand and create solid mathematical models to explain the phenomenon. Now, you might argue that he had lots of time—he spent years doing experiments and calculations. But how can a common person do that? It’s not about the amount of time; it’s about the depth of thinking. Going one level deeper in your thoughts can change your perspective and reveal new ideas.

Often, we get stuck in the same cycle of mediocre thinking, doing random things without real focus. All of us have the potential to do great things, be creative, and build amazing stuff. But that one mediocre thought can hold us back, like a magnet pulling us back when we try to focus and do something new.