Today my family continued skiing at the Lake Tahoe ski resort, and I continued to have nothing much to do, so I wrote something :-） This article is the final piece in the series “Thinking About the Nature of Intelligence, Guiding Education and Self-Improvement,” offering some humble thoughts (抛砖引玉 - pāo zhuān yǐn yù, lit. ‘casting a brick to attract jade’) to discuss the assessment and cultivation of execution ability. Links to the first three articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Friends in Silicon Valley are mostly top achievers (学霸 - xué bà), and their execution ability is already super strong. So this article isn’t targeted at these top achievers, but rather hopes to offer some reference value for people who are still improving their execution ability.

7. Execution Ability

Having set goals, collected information, used models to evaluate different choices, and finally arrived at a good plan, what remains is execution. No matter how well one learns, no matter how perfect the plan, goals cannot be achieved without action. Therefore, one must solidly cultivate the ability to execute: for things decided upon, arrange dedicated time slots as soon as possible to do them with focused attention.

How to Measure Execution Ability?

Execution ability can be measured using quantitative data. My quantitative definition of execution ability is:

Execution Ability = Actually Accomplished / Planned to Accomplish

For example, working or studying six days a week, with three time periods each day (morning, noon, evening), each period varying from 2-4 hours, one can mark out a total of 18 execution windows. Plan in advance using an electronic calendar what to do in each time slot each month. Then execute according to the plan daily. After each week and month, summarize and see if you actually did the planned tasks. If all time slots were spent doing planned tasks, that’s 100% execution ability. If only half of the time windows were spent on planned tasks, that’s 50% execution ability. The vast majority of people won’t have 100% execution ability because self-control is insufficient, and plans also change. This quantitative definition merely provides a method and an upper limit for measuring and improving execution ability.

Self-Control

The foundation for cultivating execution ability is still self-control. Being able to control one’s own words and actions, act according to plan, and do what one says (说到做到 - shuō dào zuò dào), constitutes good execution ability. Achieving a goal, accomplishing something, is a controlled process. The more complex the matter, the higher the degree of advance planning and monitoring of execution required. If the person leading cannot control their own behavior, other human and material resources cannot be effectively coordinated and mobilized.

Therefore, a person’s level of education can basically be measured by the degree of self-control in their words, actions, and demeanor (言行举止 - yán xíng jǔ zhǐ). An uneducated person lacks self-control and will only indulge their desires long-term: craving play, food, pleasure, speaking without thinking (不经大脑 - bù jīng dà nǎo), spending money recklessly, gaming, gambling, alcoholism, losing ambition through excessive focus on trivial pleasures (玩物丧志 - wán wù sàng zhì)… even drug addiction. For such people, if they don’t recognize their shortcomings themselves, and you cannot change them, the farther away you stay, the better.

Procrastination

The biggest enemy of execution ability is procrastination. Clearly knowing what one should be doing right now, what one should be doing in the near future, yet finding all sorts of excuses not to do it, putting it off, or constantly doing marginal, simple things instead. Specific examples are: it’s time to write the essay, time to memorize vocabulary, time to read, but one just can’t start. This is a common problem, and many books help analyze the reasons and offer solutions.

I also have procrastination issues; let me share a few techniques I commonly use to reduce procrastination.

First is to do things when energetic. It’s hard for people to switch tasks when tired. This is a natural protective mechanism, reminding you it’s time to rest. If you absolutely must work while tired to meet a deadline, one method is to set an alarm for a short nap, and then work after regaining mental and physical energy.

Second is to change the environment. Learning and working require a supportive environment. At home or in a dorm, various facilities for rest and entertainment create too many distractions, making it difficult to settle down and study or work. One should make a decisive move, pack a bag, and go to the library or classroom to work. In these places, the atmosphere of many people studying quietly around you is a great influence, helping you calm down and study.

Third is to break difficult tasks into smaller, relatively easier chunks to be done in stages. For instance, writing an article is hard for many people to start. The solution is to divide the article into chapters or paragraphs, focusing on writing just one paragraph or chapter at a time. Accumulating small amounts leads to a large amount (积少成多 - jī shǎo chéng duō), and eventually the entire article gets written.

Fourth is self-reward. Doing difficult things indeed requires endurance. Endurance is a consumable; it needs regular rest and replenishment. For example, after studying for about 45 minutes to an hour, take a 10-minute break, reward yourself by doing something enjoyable: go for a walk, eat a piece of chocolate, watch ten minutes of comedy, etc. Then continue working. Set an alarm for the break too, to avoid resting too long.

Fifth is to do things at a fixed time. Set a daily phone alarm for a specific time, for example, at 8 PM every day after eating, drinking, and resting enough, put aside all other distractions and start working on important tasks. Persist for a few days, and it will become a habit. Once the habit is formed, it’s easier to switch states and focus on work.

Sixth is to boldly tell people around you the specific plan for what you intend to do. For example, if you want to learn programming, boldly tell your relatives and friends, clearly stating what you want to learn, how much time you’ll allocate daily, and by what deadline you aim to reach a certain level. Telling others is actually a form of invisible promise, creating pressure for yourself. If you say you’ll do something but fail, it’s embarrassing (面子上很难看 - miànzi shàng hěn nán kàn, lit. ‘looks bad on the face’/lose face). So you just have to bite the bullet (硬着头皮 - yìng zhe tóu pí) and push through, and eventually, you succeed. People who dare not announce their plans in advance might lose potential help from those around them.

Seventh is not to pursue perfection in one go. Taking writing an article as an example again, if you aim to write a great article right from the start, the pressure can be immense, preventing you from even starting (不敢提笔写 - bù gǎn tí bǐ xiě, dare not pick up the pen to write), leading to procrastination. The correct method is to take action first, regardless of quality. First drafts are always terrible (惨不忍睹 - cǎn bù rěn dǔ, too horrible to look at). Revise, supplement, reorganize, etc., again and again. After multiple iterations, the article gradually takes shape (有个人样 - yǒu ge rén yàng, lit. ‘looks like a person’/looks decent).

Eighth is to find classmates or colleagues to work together, arrange to study or work with others. Generally, when you’ve made plans with someone, there’s pressure, fear of breaking your word (食言 - shí yán), which ultimately serves to urge yourself to keep the appointment and do the work as planned.

Ninth is through meditation (打坐冥想 - dǎ zuò míng xiǎng), cultivating the ability to observe your own desires as an outsider, and the skill of being “able to pick up and put down” (拿得起，放得下 - ná de qǐ, fàng de xià). This point will be detailed separately in the next subsection.

Meditation and “Able to Pick Up and Put Down”

Executing according to plan is actually difficult because doing the planned task involves two steps: 1. Letting go of the current activity. 2. Switching to doing the planned task. The entire process requires the person, when the planned time arrives, to decisively let go of one thing (often tempting things like games, binge-watching shows, snacking, chatting, etc.) and then be able to decisively pick up another thing (often an unpleasant task like studying, writing, working). For obvious reasons, ordinary people find it hard to make this switch smoothly. People who can get things done either innately possess this ability to “pick up and put down,” or they acquire it through acquired training, such as meditation.

During my PhD studies, I went through a period of great pressure. To reduce stress, I became fascinated with studying Buddhism. I printed out and read various Buddhist scriptures like the Diamond Sutra (金刚经), Avatamsaka Sutra (华严经), and Ksitigarbha Sutra (地藏经). I also explored various cultivation schools/sects, like the Pure Land school (净土派), Guanyin practices, and chanting Amitabha (念阿弥陀佛). My understanding is that Buddhist cultivation, through meditation and chanting scriptures, is a method to help weaken various instinctive, reflexive responses: to achieve purity of the six roots (六根清净 - liù gēn qīng jìng), not clinging to (攀缘 - pān yuán) the endless desires and emotions (喜怒哀乐 - xǐ nù āi lè) in the mind. The six roots refer to eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Buddhism considers reaching a state free from vexations as purity of the six roots, metaphorically meaning having no desires.

My meditation practice method was to sit cross-legged, palms up in a specific mudra (拈花指 - niān huā zhǐ, ‘flower-pinching finger’ gesture), sit with the spine straight, gently close my eyes, focus on my breath, while silently chanting “Amitabha” (what is chanted specifically doesn’t matter, it just needs to be something without inherent meaning), to reduce thoughts in the mind, or imagine a candle in front, watching it without joy or sorrow, or simply be an observer of the thoughts in my own mind: letting thoughts come without rejecting, letting them go without retaining (来之不拒，去之不留 - lái zhī bù jù, qù zhī bù liú). The key is whatever relaxes the body and mind best. At that time, my meditation experience deepened; I could enter a state of forgetting the body (身忘的状态 - shēn wàng de zhuàngtài), where I couldn’t feel my body’s existence, feeling like my body merged with the environment, losing the sense of up/down/left/right space, or the sense of year/month time. And naturally, no worries or sorrows. I indeed really liked and was fascinated by this feeling.

Overseas Chinese students frequently visit a website called mitbbs.com, which has a dedicated forum for Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism (佛道儒版面 - fó dào rú bǎnmiàn). I used to be an active member there. There were several masters (高人 - gāo rén) there. One day, I private-messaged one of the masters, and we had agreed I would go become his disciple (拜师学艺 - bài shī xué yì), preparing to completely leave the secular world (脱离红尘 - tuō lí hóng chén). Later, I felt that escaping worldly pressure was like being a deserter (逃兵 - táo bīng). I saw a compromise solution: lay practitioners (居士 - jū shì) who cultivate while living in the world, on one hand, can take up worldly responsibilities (拿得起尘世的责任 - ná de qǐ chén shì de zérèn), excelling in various fields, and on the other hand, can completely let go of worldly vexations (放下尘世烦恼 - fàng xià chén shì fánnǎo) when they wish to. So I decided to be someone who cultivates while engaged in the world, achieving a balance between shouldering life’s responsibilities and being able to completely relax. Buddhism holds great appeal for many highly educated people; Buddhist scriptures contain much logic and phrasing of great wisdom (大智慧 - dà zhìhuì). Later, I discovered online that quite a few Masters and PhDs from Tsinghua and Peking University in China had also become monks/nuns (出家 - chū jiā). I understand, but feel it went to an extreme (极端 - jí duān). I almost became one of them (差点也变成其中的一员 - chà diǎn yě biàn chéng qí zhōng de yī yuán).

The personal benefit of this experience was learning to observe the various thoughts in my own mind as an outsider. I would no longer be instinctively pulled by these thoughts into action. These thoughts could be the itchy urge (心痒痒的瘾 - xīn yǎngyǎng de yǐn) to play, or entanglement (纠结 - jiū jié) in some desire related to life or work. Examining myself from an observer’s perspective allows me to remind myself to restrain desires, to drop them. And then promptly do what needs to be done.

Besides relaxing the brain, training oneself to be aware of one’s thoughts, and letting go of various vexations and desires, meditation is also very beneficial for physical health. When a person is engaged in highly tense study or work, the body invests all resources into coping with the current urgent task; the immune system is weakened or even paused, unable to attend to protecting the body. Only when a person completely relaxes are resources redistributed back to the immune system, and the body naturally enters a state of repair. This is why many people get sick when they finally have downtime (一闲下来反而生病了 - yī xián xiàlái fǎn’ér shēng bìng le). It’s actually because only after relaxation can the body’s immune system generate the corresponding pathological responses to various damages. People usually operate under high load; occasionally training oneself to detach from all desires and vexations has various benefits. For example, ensuring health, reducing stress, increasing mental agility, and improving work efficiency.

Later, I discovered that more and more high-level successful people also advocate meditation. For example, the world’s leading news media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Ford Motor Company President Bill Ford, American TV talk show host and one of the most influential African-American celebrities, Oprah Gail Winfrey. Many Fortune 500 (世界500强 - shì jiè wǔ bǎi qiáng) companies offer meditation courses to employees, including Google (谷歌), AOL (美国在线), and Apple (苹果公司). Apple founder Steve Jobs (乔布斯) once traveled to India to study (游学 - yóu xué) and learn meditation. Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates (桥水公司) is also an enthusiastic advocate of meditation; Bridgewater reimburses (报账 - bào zhàng) employees for books and training courses on meditation. He claims meditation might be the single most important reason for whatever success he’s had. He says meditation helps him tap into the brain’s creativity.

“Transcendental Meditation has probably been the single most important reason for whatever success I’ve had,” says Ray Dalio.

Dalio recommends Roth’s book, “Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation.” The Chinese translation is roughly 超觉静坐 (Chāo Jué Jìng Zuò).

A brief introduction from Baidu Baike is as follows:
“
Transcendental Meditation (超觉静坐 - Chāo Jué Jìng Zuò), also known as “transcendent stillness,” is a means of meditation practice (禅修 - chán xiū), a type of yoga technique (瑜珈术 - yú jiā shù) developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of India. Traditional “Transcendental Meditation” can only be taught individually. Specific practices include: sitting quietly, eyes closed, silently repeating a “mantra” (字句 - zì jù) to eliminate distracting thoughts. Generally, it is practiced for 20 minutes each before breakfast and in the evening. Because the practitioner mentally repeats words or sounds throughout the practice, from this perspective, it is significantly influenced by Buddhist thought (佛教思想 - Fó jiào sī xiǎng).

“Transcendental Meditation” is considered an exercise method that can increase energy, lower stress levels (应激水平 - yìng jī shuǐ píng), and benefit physical and mental health. In terms of physiological changes (生理变化 - shēng lǐ biàn huà), “Transcendental Meditation” differs from states of wakefulness (醒觉 - xǐng jué), sleep (睡眠 - shuì mián), dreaming (梦 - mèng), and hypnosis (催眠 - cuī mián). After practice, a person’s tension level decreases, heart rate slows (心率 - xīn lǜ), blood pressure drops (血压 - xuè yā), oxygen consumption reduces (耗氧量 - hào yǎng liàng), and alpha waves (α波 - alpha bō) increase in the EEG (脑电图 - nǎo diàn tú). Some believe the benefits experienced from 20 minutes of practice surpass those of deep sleep; it has the effect of regenerating strength (重新产生力量 - chóng xīn chǎn shēng lì liàng) and protecting the body from exhaustion (保护身体免受消耗 - bǎo hù shēn tǐ miǎn shòu xiāo hào), giving the feeling of a pleasant, carefree state of relaxation (愉快的、无忧无虑的放松状态 - yú kuài de, wú yōu wú lǜ de fàng sōng zhuàng tài). However, individuals with extreme anxiety (焦虑 - jiāo lǜ), depression (抑郁 - yì yù), and certain psychiatric patients (精神病患者 - jīng shén bìng huàn zhě) are not suitable (不适宜 - bù shì yí) for this training.

Transcendence (超觉 - chāo jué) refers to the complete cessation of thinking activity, with only awake pure consciousness (清醒的纯意识 - qīng xǐng de chún yì shí) existing, known in Buddhist studies as the “fourth state of consciousness” (第四意识 - dì sì yì shí) or “pure consciousness” (纯净意识 - chún jìng yì shí). In “pure consciousness,” no thoughts or matter (思想与物质 - sī xiǎng yǔ wù zhì) exist; the human body feels like it is in a state transcending time and space (超越时空 - chāo yuè shí kōng). Zen studies (禅学 - Chán xué) call this state the “state of emptiness” (空的境界 - kōng de jìng jiè) or the “state of no-self” (无我的境界 - wú wǒ de jìng jiè). Maharishi’s “Transcendental Meditation” aims to let people forget themselves (忘记自己 - wàng jì zì jǐ); this is not losing memory (失去记忆 - shī qù jì yì), but consciousness returning to the depths of the mind (意识回归心灵深处 - yì shí huí guī xīn líng shēn chù), experiencing the feeling of completely no thought activity (i.e., pure consciousness). When experiencing pure consciousness, breathing becomes gentle (呼吸变得柔和 - hū xī biàn de róu hé), body and mind enter deep rest (深度休息 - shēn dù xiū xī), the entire body is completely relaxed (完全松弛 - wán quán sōng chí), but the inner consciousness remains awake (内心的意识仍然是清醒的 - nèi xīn de yì shí réng rán shì qīng xǐng de).
“

I personally have not practiced this method. However, it seems very similar (类似 - lèi sì) to traditional Buddhist meditation. Those interested can cautiously try it (谨慎的尝试一下 - jǐn shèn de cháng shì yī xià). For meditation, it’s best to first consult a doctor (咨询医生 - zī xún yī shēng), then have professional guidance and accompaniment (专业人士陪同指导 - zhuān yè rén shì péi tóng zhǐ dǎo), perhaps attend a training course (培训班 - péi xùn bān), to prevent accidents (防止出意外 - fáng zhǐ chū yì wài).

Those who enjoy reading can read books about meditation. I casually searched (随便搜索了一下 - suí biàn sōu suǒ le yī xià) on WeRead (微信读书 - Wēixìn Dúshū) and found 7 books, listed below sorted by the number of readers (按阅读人数排列 - àn yuè dú rén shù pái liè):

  • 《冥想》 (Meditation) by Swami Rama (斯卡迷 拉玛) - 24,000 readers

  • 《只要会呼吸，就能做冥想》 (If You Can Breathe, You Can Meditate) by Tobin Blake (托宾 布莱克) - 8,721 readers

  • 《冥想的力量》 (The Power of Meditation) by Swami Adiswarananda (斯卡米 阿迪斯瓦阿南达) - 8,064 readers

  • 《用安静改变世界：如何科学又艺术地冥想》 (Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple / How to Meditate Scientifically and Artistically) by Russell Simmons (拉塞尔 西蒙斯) - 2,670 readers

  • 《感觉累了，就冥想吧》 (When You Feel Tired, Just Meditate) by Li Shangqing (李上卿) - 2,460 readers

  • 《冥想：唤醒内心强大的力量》 (Meditation: Awakening the Powerful Strength Within) by Xiao Wenjian (肖文建) - 2,409 readers

  • 《冥想，是放松的开始》 (Meditation is the Beginning of Relaxation) by Zhang Man (张漫) - 1,708 readers

8. Concluding Remarks

Thinking about the nature of intelligence should be a very interesting mental exercise. Different people will certainly have different views on this topic. Friends are welcome to discuss this topic together. After reaching a good consensus, we can discuss together how to improve the existing education system and achieve more effective self-improvement.

My current view is that we should study the core functional modules of intelligent systems (including goal setting, learning, modeling, perception, prediction, decision making, execution), then borrow the latest research findings from each module (mainly models + algorithms), and apply them to enhancing human capabilities. Educating children (娃娃 - wáwa) and improving oneself can both start by enhancing the core modules of intelligent systems one by one. In the long run, wearable or implantable intelligent systems can be closely integrated with humans, greatly enhancing the functions of the core intelligence modules, helping us live and work better.

The End

Original Chinese version of this article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4G7SCQoRNSls3FqyQfihkQ