Book SummaryDesigning the Mind, by Designing the Mind and Ryan A Bush

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Designing the Mind

Do you want to become the master of your own mind? Do you struggle with thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that don’t align with your goals and aspirations? If so, Ryan A. Bush’s book Designing the Mind can help. Bush provides a collection of strategies that will help you change the thought patterns, emotions, and behaviors that are holding you back into ones that help you become your best self. He argues that your thought patterns and emotional responses aren’t static, as many people believe—in reality, you can “reprogram” your mind like a computer to create new, more favorable patterns of thinking.

Bush is a designer whose work centers on creating a better future by improving systems and people. He’s worked in systems design for tech startups, creating everything from software to buildings, and he continues to pursue a lifelong passion for self-optimization. He created [Designing the...

Designing the Mind Summary Background: Rewriting Your Mental Programs

According to Bush, you don’t have to accept your default mental processes as your unchanging reality—to be your best self, you shouldn’t. In this section, you’ll learn how you can shape your mind by treating your thought processes like computer algorithms that can be edited. We’ll also discuss how the brain is built to adapt and change, making this kind of conscious modification possible.

The Mind as a Computer

Bush argues that the mind is like a computer, with immeasurable inputs and algorithms that prompt the behaviors that make us who we are.

(Shortform note: To best understand Bush’s analogy, it’s important to have a baseline knowledge of computer processing. When we use a computer, we input data that trigger algorithms—formulas that are coded into the computer’s software. Algorithms provide step-by-step instructions, and the computer uses these instructions to execute commands that lead to the desired outputs, or results. For example, a search algorithm retrieves information from stored data based on search queries. Algorithms...

Designing the Mind Summary Level 1: Adjusting Your Thought Patterns

According to Bush, the first level of mental programming you need to address to become your ideal self is your thought patterns and beliefs. Having faulty beliefs will make it difficult to master the other aspects of your mind because your choices, feelings, and behaviors all stem from what you believe.

(Shortform note: Many psychologists agree with Bush’s assertion that our mindsets and beliefs play a huge role in how we experience the world. They even suggest that what we believe we’re capable of becomes our reality. For example, research conducted on intelligence mindsets in students showed that students with a growth mindset—the belief that their intelligence could improve with practice and attention—showed a marked improvement in their academic performance over time. In contrast, students with a fixed mindset—the belief that nothing they could do would change their level of intelligence—didn’t show improvement.)

In this section, you’ll learn how biases and the false beliefs they can trigger harmfully distort your thinking patterns, as well as how to rewrite your biased...

Designing the Mind Summary Level 2: Conquering Your Emotions

The next level of mental programming Bush suggests you work on is conquering your emotions. He argues that understanding and altering your emotional responses must come next because emotions, more than anything else, drive us to act. If you have a poor emotional reaction to a situation, then your behavioral response will likely do more harm than good. (For example, most of us have said or done something in anger that we regretted once we calmed down.) If you learn to modulate your emotional responses, you can more easily change your behavior for the better.

(Shortform note: Emotions are great motivators toward action because of how we evolved to survive—many emotions come from the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes fearful or threatening stimuli. When we see something that appears dangerous—like an aggressive animal, for example—emotions like fear prompt the fight-or-flight response, which physiologically prepares our bodies to...

Designing the Mind Summary Level 3: Mastering Your Behavior

In the previous two sections, you learned how to change faulty, bias-driven thought patterns and get rid of unhelpful emotions. In this section, you’ll learn how to implement Bush’s final level of self-mastery: control over your behavior and actions. We’ll examine his assertion that you should direct your behavior toward values-based goals, along with his strategies for changing your behavioral habits.

Self-Control and Following Your Goals

According to Bush, you should strive to gain as much control over your behavior and actions as possible. People who have a high level of self-control experience a collection of benefits, including a healthier lifestyle, more stable finances, more successful relationships, and a generally better state of mental and physical health.

The Virtuous Cycle of Self-Control and Healthy Living

While having a high level of self-control can contribute to a healthier life and create the benefits Bush lists, having a healthier lifestyle can also increase self-control, creating a virtuous cycle. For example, [getting good-quality sleep is important for brain...

Shortform Exercise: Rewrite an Unhelpful Thought Pattern to Control Your Emotions

According to Bush, changing your emotions for the better involves rewriting unhelpful thought patterns that trigger unwanted feelings. Practice redirecting thoughts and emotions that don’t serve you.

Think of a time recently when you experienced an unhelpful emotion. Name the emotion and describe the situation that caused it. (For example, maybe you felt jealous that your friend was spending time with another person.)