Feelings Are Signals for Triggered Values
Cut through the noise to identify what matters to you
With over 200 articles written, there can be some difficulty in finding ones that are specifically useful on a particular topic or theme. While on occasion I write an article that is time-sensitive, most of what I write is evergreen, e.g., it’s useful no matter when you read it. My focus is on principles rather than pop analysis, though that can certainly be fun and interesting as well.
With that in mind, here is a collection of articles connected by the idea of exploring the mistaken assumption that feelings, thoughts, and values are direct windows onto truth. Feelings are signals pointing to what matters, not verdicts; thoughts are frequently unreliable noise rather than accurate maps; values are the underlying architecture steering every decision, often invisibly; and when a totalizing framework like religious certainty collapses, the predictive “map” itself dissolves, exposing how much of selfhood was constructed rather than discovered.
Read in order, the argument I’m promoting is for treating inner experience as functional and tentative, demanding active interpretation rather than passive trust. This is especially true when coming out of authoritarian ideologies or mindsets that curtailed questions and demanded you think of yourself through a singular lens.
1
To Be Triggered Is An Inevitable Part of Being Human
We are invariably embedded in multiple interactive systems. As such, we are constantly interpreting the need for how to express ourselves in light of sometimes competing influences.
2
3
Our Thoughts Are Largely Bullshit
Much of what pops up as conscious experience is already being discarded every day. Our brains never shut up, and to avoid getting stuck in the cacophony of data, we have systems, biases, and heuristics in place to shine a path through the noise. They don't always work great, but they're what we have.
4
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David