Think Straight by Darius Foroux Book Summary

The quality of thoughts leads to the quality of life. Our thoughts are directly related to our actions; whatever we think reflects in our actions.

Today’s world is full of information, and we are just filling our brains with unnecessary information, making it challenging to stay focused and reach our goals.

In Think Straight, Darius Foroux provides a simple yet powerful framework for clearing one’s mind, focusing on what matters, and taking strong action.

He discusses everything that messes with our heads, like stress, being stuck in negative thought loops, or being paralyzed by worry about failing.

But here’s the good part. He doesn’t just point out the problems. He walks you through practical steps to overcome these mental roadblocks.

Think of it as training your brain to be an ally instead of an enemy. To keep it practical, Darius combines this book with theories, stories, and personal experiences.

1. Why Straight Thinking Matters

“If you can change your mind, you can change your life.”
William James

Have you ever noticed how your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy?

Darius Foroux is talking about the same thing here. He says having a clear mind is like having superpowers for success and happiness. When our thoughts are scattered, that’s when we start falling.

This happens mostly to people in life. You have two thoughts in your brain, and sometimes, choosing one is difficult.

• Sometimes, emotions take control and make decisions based on how we feel rather than what’s true. This is what Darius Foroux calls subjective thinking—when our feelings and opinions shape our thoughts.
• Objective thinking, on the other hand, involves acting like scientists, focusing on facts instead of emotions. Instead of letting feelings cloud our judgment, we look at the reality of a situation and make logical choices.

For example, imagine you apply for a job and don’t get a response. Subjective thinking might make you believe, “Maybe I’m not good enough” or “They don’t like me.” But if you think objectively, you’d consider other possibilities—maybe they had too many applicants or haven’t reviewed applications yet.

There is a little voice in our heads that keeps whispering negative thoughts: “You can’t do this” or “You’re not smart enough.”

He compares it to having a pessimistic roommate living in your mind—someone who constantly fills you with doubt and makes you question yourself.

The problem is that the more we listen to these negative thoughts, the more we start believing them. It lowers our confidence and keeps us stuck in worry. But by shifting to objective thinking, you can challenge these thoughts, focus on facts, and stop letting negativity hold you back.

2. The Process of Clear Thinking

With practice, you can better control your thoughts and make your own decisions.

Better control over your thoughts can improve your quality of life. The human brain is like a tool; it needs training to do good things.

We are born with this tool but don’t know how to use it properly.

Clear thinking means avoiding thinking traps and biases and developing a systematic approach to decision-making.

Our brain is a muscle that requires regular training to stay strong. The best way to train your brain is to learn new things every day, but this training ends when your education ends.

Do what works. Daurius, a simple man like us, was incapable of handling his day-to-day life troubles, but now he is a master of his brain.

He learned better thinking by reading, journaling, and choosing positive thoughts.

Now, his thoughts don’t control him; instead, he controls them. He is sorted and happy now.

Straight thinking doesn’t mean you are an expert at solving maths problems, but it’s about how you successfully control your thoughts and live a happy, healthy, and meaningful life.

You should know the difference between useful thoughts and useless thoughts.

Mostly, thoughts are unnecessary. They create chaos, and you have to choose clarity to think straight.

Don’t believe everything you read or listen to. If you like to think straight, make the decision after analyzing the ground reality.

3 How Can You Achieve Mental Clarity?

As we all know, numerous thoughts come into our brains, and not all of them are useful.

Marcus Aurelius once said, “The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”

Look around you. Technology is everywhere. People are unemployed, and time is changing very fast. People are filled with anxiety, work pressure, and uncertainty.

When the mind is full of thoughts, contorting the thought is very difficult.

Since the 5th century BC, philosophers from all ages and regions have agreed on one thing: the human mind is an instrument that solves problems.

Many philosophers argue that the quality of your thoughts determines the quality of your life.

From Confucius to Socrates to Descartes to William James, they all talked about their way of thinking—a way of looking at the world.

Sometimes, we must question our beliefs because they come from other opinions. Is believing in thought without any checking a wrong approach?

Which thought is correct?

You have the ability to understand facts. William James describes the idea of pragmatism as follows:” Thoughts should serve a useful purpose. If they don’t, they’re useless.

Your life quality depends on the quality of your thoughts, so choose your thoughts carefully.

4. Overcome Self Doubt

Brian works all the time, whether you are active or not. Since you can’t process too much information worldwide, you should focus on filtering it. That is why our brains evolved to filter our thoughts.

But it uses shortcuts, which, when combined with information, help us make a decision. These shortcuts are called heuristics.

A heuristic is a strategy we derive from previous experience with a similar problem. But it’s not always practical.

If you use this method for success, your life will be spent in trial and error.

Another example is social proof, which is when we do the same things as others. Familiarity is common.

We consume the same foods, walk the same route, make the same mistakes, and complete the same tasks at work.

There is a problem with familiarity. We should take the risk and try something new for business and work, but we do the same thing. Heuristics and mental shortcuts give negative outcomes.

Pragmatism works better. Its main idea is that truth is what works, instead of relying on heuristics to filter information and make decisions.

For example, most people think that bigger cities also mean more opportunities. But is this really true?

Darius also thought the same, so he came to the Netherlands and settled in London. He got a good job, but a big job brings big responsibility and high stress.

But he soon realised he didn’t like big cities, pollution, crowds, or the high cost of living. He decided to return to his home country, the Netherlands.

He earns much more in less work because small cities have more minor expenses and peaceful life.

It shows that what is good for others is good for you as well, so do what is suitable for you.

5. Your Mind’s Reset Button: Rethink Decisions, Let Go, & Move Forward

The human brain has numerous thoughts, especially at night when you are trying to sleep. As we read in the previous chapter, we are aware that 99 per cent of our thoughts are useless.

Many times we lose our time in negative thoughts like, I will lose my job, “Why does my life suck?”, “I just keep failing.”

These are useless thoughts, and there is no answer to them. But it will come.

What is the solution now?

We can’t control our consciousness. We can only control what thoughts we think and what actions we take. You only have to be aware of your thoughts. Acknowledge them. But never blame yourself or say, “Why do I have these thoughts?”

It will help you decide which ones are useless you must ignore.

For example, the thought of quitting, whatever Darius is doing in his life, has been on his mind for as long as he can remember. When he was in high school, he wanted to quit and just find a job.

When he played basketball, he wanted to quit, and later, he quit. He finally decided that my thoughts would not control me; I would control my thoughts.

After mastering to control his thoughts, he became calm and happy.

Useful Thoughts (control) and useless Thoughts (Uncontrolled)

In our lives, we have few things in our control; after defining what is in our control, we can subside the 99% useless thoughts from our brains.

Imagine a big circle with a small circle inside it. The small circle shows the things that are in your control.

Only focus on what you control. Things like :

• Desires
• Actions
• Words
• Intentions

A big circle reflects useless thoughts that are not under your control. For example, your past. Take the lesson from the past and let go of the others. The same thing applies to your future, so don’t think too much about the future.

Two types of useful Thought

• Find the solution to the problem
• Use your knowledge for your career, family, friends, and relatives and apply it to improve your life.

You can use this method to save time and energy. Focus on solutions and acquire more knowledge.

Don’t trust your mind.

Our minds always take easy ways; sometimes, we make mistakes by choosing easy ways. Always think from different angles and perspectives to make the right decision.

Look at the facts. Most people assume things without knowing the truth. For example, if someone doesn’t reply to your message, then you think he doesn’t value you.

Sometimes, we need to decide immediately; then, we must decide based on our gut feeling. Take your time to think. People think smart people think quickly, but that is a normal person’s wrong assumption. They also take time to think.

• Slowing down and carefully evaluating thoughts can help you avoid impulsive mistakes.
• No more quick decisions. Use patience, take at least one hour, and be thoughtful when taking action.

6. Be Yourself, Think Less, Reflect More, and Break the Rules That Hold You Back

“Conquer yourself rather than the world.”
René Descartes

Be yourself (not you should be). Darius says that knowing yourself is important. Without self-knowledge, you can make mistakes, such as choosing the wrong profession, life partner, school course, or friends.

It did not align with your strengths, values, skills, and desires. Choose according to you, not according to the other choice. Wrong choices can cause you to suffer lifelong.

You are free to make the decision to whom you feel more compatible, like your life partner. Because it’s a matter of your complete life.

For this, it is important to know who you are and what kind of people you want in your life. The same thing applies to your job and education.

We all live busy lives, and sometimes, we do not have time to think. Make thinking a daily habit. You can draw your thoughts and keep a journal.

Many successful people journal. They write about their mistakes, goals, and learning. Darius does the same. He starts writing and reviews it once a week. He explains the benefits of journaling.

• It helps to find mistakes so you can avoid them in the future.
• It helps to value your progress when you read about your past achievements.
• You need to organize your thoughts so you can second-guess yourself. This helps you make better decisions.

Money Rules

Darius shares some principles and practical money rules.

• Rule#1: Don’t buy that thing that doesn’t require it.
• Rule#2: Every month, save at least 10% of your income.
• Rule#3: Keep yourself away from the Debt.
• Rule#4: Invest in that thing where you get better returns.
• Rule#5: Don’t be stingy, it’s just money.

With these five rules, kindly invest in your skills. You can invest in tools, webinars, and books; it’s also a kind of investment for yourself. For example, you can invest in your new laptop to earn more.

Later, you can make money, but you won’t have time. Time is precious, so don’t waste it thinking too much.

Don’t Try To Think Your Way Out Of Everything

Try not to solve every problem; when we think too much about a problem, we get many bad ideas. Relax your brain.

It’s not necessary to find a solution to your every issue. Leave it for time. Accept the reality that you can’t solve every problem.

Let it remain as it is. Increase your circle, think beyond right and wrong, and change your ways of thinking.

Don’t ask why. small things later on can create problems. So,

1. Always double-check.
2. Small things can become big things.
3. And don’t play favours.

When we face any problem, we think why we face the problem, but every time, we don’t ask why. Try to find a solution. This “Why” creates trouble only.

It will break your mental peace. Every time to find out why it is not important.

• First, if you have a solution, then try to correct it.
• Second, as we learn from the previous chapter, leave it as it is.

Learn from your mistakes, apply lesson in your future life, and help others as well. If you extract lessons from your mistakes, then your lives will be better.

7. Live with Clarity: Stop Asking Why, Take Action, and Find Inner Peace

“The devil is in the detail.” It’s one of Darius’s favourite platitudes. Let’s understand it.

Darius has a habit of doing things in a hurry. Because of this, he never focuses on details in his business and also suffers losses.

Now, he has changed his habits and is focused on details about important things in business, work, sports, art, relationships, and life in general.

If you really want success in your life, you have to focus on the details. If you like to grow financially, spiritually, and mentally, you must constantly revisit the details.
If you want to do a job right, never underestimate or overlook details. And if you don’t, it’s better not to do it at all.

Take your thinking out of the equation. You see many people who think a lot, make many plans, and then vanish when the time comes for execution.

Darius says my life goal is i wants to do a lot in my life. That is why I don’t think about my average day.

If you are willing to spend more than average days, you have to bind yourself to some fixed rules that form your day. Darius made some principles come out of the equation.

• Exercise at least 30 minutes a day (every day)
• Don’t burn yourself out (don’t go all out)
• Eat healthy (no junk food)
• Don’t consume more calories than you burn
• Monitor what you eat and how much you exercise

Don’t Regret About The Past

Many times, we live in the past and forget about the present and the small happiness around us.

Repeating bad past moments never helps. You also lose your time today. You can’t change your past, and everybody has a regret about it.

Take the lesson from your past events and move forward only. Never look back. Live in the present moments.

Spend your time well. Sometimes, think outside the box, and generally, it’s advisable not to think too much because it’s unproductive.

If you don’t take action, your thinking is completely wasted. Create new ideas, improve your quality of life, grow your business, and spend quality time with your family.

Hard work and discipline are required for practical thinking, which requires daily practice. Carefully spend your time; don’t spend it on complaining and self-doubt.

The main benefit of straight thinking is inner calm. You should be calm in every situation, and inner calm means controlling your thoughts.

You can achieve it by practising daily. It is also mindfulness and meditation. Sit properly and monitor your thoughts. You can do it anytime. It required only willpower.

Think beyond yourself

Darius shares the idea of pragmatism.

If you Google ‘pragmatism’, you’ll probably read that the philosophical movement was founded by Charles Sanders Peirce, a former professor at Johns Hopkins University,

But if you look closer into the story behind the philosophy, you’ll find that in 1898, William James actually credited Peirce as the founder.

Charles Sanders Peirce was an academic well-respected during the 1880s, but he had fallen from grace by the end of the 19th century.

James and met each other while they were both students at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard in the 1860s.

Peirce, once considered as a prodigy of mathematics and logic, went on to become a professor at Johns Hopkins University.

However, he lost his position in 1884 due to a scandal involving his re-marriage.

He had terrible days. It’s truly a sad story.

No one helped him except for his old friend William James.

A book that he had written for twelve years and published in 1890. In contrast to his friend, James’ career was on the rise for
years.
In a lecture called “Philosophical Concepts and Practical Results,” William James credited “the principle of pragmatism” to Charles Sanders Peirce.

James thinks scientists spend years on research, and it doesn’t have any impact on others’ lives. But Pragmatism says, “There should be the practical value of your ideas.

James credits Peirce with pragmatism, which earned him respect in society and led to publishing his articles before his death.

William James did for Peirce what no one else could do. That makes him a great person.

William James once said: “The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”

Maybe you think it’s impractical. What is the use of that thing we can’t use alive?

We should strive to do/create useful things that matter to others. When we do that, we spend our time on things that actually make a difference. When we do that, life automatically has meaning—to everyone.