While the approach has the usual downside of this genre in relying on stories instead of evidence and trying to fit messy things into neat lists, I found it helpful in shaping my thinking. I also think there is an overlap with viewpoints we often see in the EA movement and not only by people in leadership positions.
The book starts with the premise that there are different states of mind in which we operate, focusing on the most common ones: “to me” and “by me”. The “to me” approach is a passive viewpoint where people blame others or themselves, are reactive, and have fixed beliefs. The book is for people who want to move to a “by me” mode of taking radical responsibility for their circumstances in life, being open to new information and feelings and living from a sense of having enough in life.
The book has vibes of Californian startup culture, focussing on complete self-sufficiency while incorporating mindfulness and communicating about feelings. At one point, they describe a meeting of an investment firm where team members vocalise their upcoming feelings nonverbally before moving on to making decisions. This may be too much woo for some. However, the approach is similar to what people in the rationalist community have been writing about. If we know ourselves better and are curious about not only our thoughts but all our experiences, then we can get better at working with this to be better at what we’re doing.
The 15 commitments the authors come up with, lists the “by me” modes to be aimed at and the “to me” states many people operate under. The EA principles of open truth-seeking and collaborative spirit are reflected in the commitments of curiosity, candor, gossip, integrity, genius, “opposite of my story”, allies, win for all. Someone subscribing to these commitments will probably integrate well into an EA-aligned organisation.
For altruistic-minded people, the commitment to enough will help with increasing donations, while the commitment to “play and rest” is a way to maximise energy.
Combining the commitments the book describes with an altruistic mindset speaks to me. I’m intuitively drawn more to the values described there than to live a life of altruistic actions (something I wrote about here). I have the feeling that I can become more impactful by applying my willpower to adhering to the commitments than, for example, becoming an organ donor or going vegan.
It may come down to the seeming dichotomy of excited vs. obligatory altruism, where the book offers a way of acting out of a feeling of curiosity and abundance and having a fun and holistic approach to life, instead of a moral obligation that requires maximising impact. It may be helpful in day-to-day life to have some principles to guide actions, and some of the ones from the book seem useful to me in growing while being in a mindset of exited altruism.
Commitments for Excited Altruists
I recently read the book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, which I stumbled upon in Ben Todd’s Personal annual review process in the section ”What I found most useful in designing this doc”. Written by management consultants whose endorsements include one by Dustin Moskovitz, it is a self-help book for leaders interested in personal growth.
While the approach has the usual downside of this genre in relying on stories instead of evidence and trying to fit messy things into neat lists, I found it helpful in shaping my thinking. I also think there is an overlap with viewpoints we often see in the EA movement and not only by people in leadership positions.
The book starts with the premise that there are different states of mind in which we operate, focusing on the most common ones: “to me” and “by me”. The “to me” approach is a passive viewpoint where people blame others or themselves, are reactive, and have fixed beliefs. The book is for people who want to move to a “by me” mode of taking radical responsibility for their circumstances in life, being open to new information and feelings and living from a sense of having enough in life.
The book has vibes of Californian startup culture, focussing on complete self-sufficiency while incorporating mindfulness and communicating about feelings. At one point, they describe a meeting of an investment firm where team members vocalise their upcoming feelings nonverbally before moving on to making decisions. This may be too much woo for some. However, the approach is similar to what people in the rationalist community have been writing about. If we know ourselves better and are curious about not only our thoughts but all our experiences, then we can get better at working with this to be better at what we’re doing.
The 15 commitments the authors come up with, lists the “by me” modes to be aimed at and the “to me” states many people operate under. The EA principles of open truth-seeking and collaborative spirit are reflected in the commitments of curiosity, candor, gossip, integrity, genius, “opposite of my story”, allies, win for all. Someone subscribing to these commitments will probably integrate well into an EA-aligned organisation.
The EA community is sometimes described as a do-ocracy, with people starting what is missing, giving the movement a somewhat decentralised approach. This mindset is reflected in the commitments of responsibility and “being the resolution”.
For altruistic-minded people, the commitment to enough will help with increasing donations, while the commitment to “play and rest” is a way to maximise energy.
Combining the commitments the book describes with an altruistic mindset speaks to me. I’m intuitively drawn more to the values described there than to live a life of altruistic actions (something I wrote about here). I have the feeling that I can become more impactful by applying my willpower to adhering to the commitments than, for example, becoming an organ donor or going vegan.
It may come down to the seeming dichotomy of excited vs. obligatory altruism, where the book offers a way of acting out of a feeling of curiosity and abundance and having a fun and holistic approach to life, instead of a moral obligation that requires maximising impact. It may be helpful in day-to-day life to have some principles to guide actions, and some of the ones from the book seem useful to me in growing while being in a mindset of exited altruism.
If you want to learn more about the book, here is a summary and here a breakdown by chapters.