How to think like Shakespeare

How to think like Shakespeare

This is the summary version of the?Rethinking Negative Capability?newsletter edition.?I explain this idea in much more detail in the long-form version, which you can read by following this link.


John Keats, the great romantic poet, once wrote a letter that included a powerful concept: Something he called “negative capability,” meaning when someone “is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.”

The idea is about embracing the unknown and resisting explaining away things we don’t yet understand. It’s a 200-year-old idea that is remarkably relevant today.

In our culture of performance and immediate answers, there is a focus on “positive” capabilities. It leads to an almost unbearable pressure to be fast and decisive.

So how can we re-embrace the power of negative capability?

Subscribe on Substack to read the full version of this newsletter. Here, I will explain how William Shakespeare used negative capability in his work - and how you can use it in yours.

1 month late

回复

Though the the expression sounds like something negative, it's amuch needed positive term which has to be implemented in our words, thoughts and deeds for any kind of success. Thank you Rachel, for sharing this valuable Shakesperean thought.

回复
Dragan Dimovski

Founder & Exclusive Buyers Agent | QPIA? (Qualified Property Investment Adviser) | Off Market Property Investment | Positively Geared Property Portfolio | Licensed Real Estate Agent

1 年

It's amazing how a concept from 200 years ago can still be so relevant today. Negative capability reminds us to resist the urge to explain away the unknown and embrace the beauty of uncertainty. Thanks for sharing this inspiring idea, Rachel Botsman!

回复
Ciara Lancaster - Reimagine Change? Speaker

Change Fatigue & Resilience Keynote Speaker, #1 Best-Selling Author, Change Strategist & Founder.

1 年

Rachel, thank you, this is incredibly well written and relevant ??

回复

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Rachel Botsman的更多文章

  • How to avoid email miscommunication

    How to avoid email miscommunication

    Want to read the full article? Just click here and join 88k+ other Rethink subscribers getting my ideas and frameworks…

    7 条评论
  • How feelings have taken over facts

    How feelings have taken over facts

    Want the full deep dive on this topic? Read it on Substack—join more than 88k Rethink subscribers here. Dear…

    22 条评论
  • Is AI’s empathy ‘real'?

    Is AI’s empathy ‘real'?

    Want to read the full article? Just click here and join 88k+ other Rethink subscribers getting my ideas and frameworks…

    18 条评论
  • What Gen Z can teach us about trust

    What Gen Z can teach us about trust

    Dear Rethinkers, Learning to judge fact from fiction may be the defining issue of our age, especially for younger…

    13 条评论
  • Where did the concept of empathy come from?

    Where did the concept of empathy come from?

    Dear Rethinkers, Bad news I’m afraid: employee engagement has sunk to a 10-year low, according to a new survey…

    15 条评论
  • Learn how to trust & be trusted in the workplace in 2025

    Learn how to trust & be trusted in the workplace in 2025

    Dear Rethinkers, After years teaching trust to CEOs, entrepreneurs, world leaders, and all kinds of students, I’m…

    11 条评论
  • Would you like to feel more confident taking risks?

    Would you like to feel more confident taking risks?

    Dear Rethinkers, I don’t know about you, but I feel flooded with messages to make new resolutions or changes at this…

    11 条评论
  • A trust toolkit in your pocket – announcing my new book!

    A trust toolkit in your pocket – announcing my new book!

    Dear Rethinkers, I have exciting news. My new audiobook, How To Trust & Be Trusted, will be out on January 14th.

    11 条评论
  • How to tap into the good kind of boredom

    How to tap into the good kind of boredom

    During a workday, you can be both very busy - and very bored - simultaneously. Boredom often triggers a desire to…

    5 条评论
  • How mistakes can help us move forward

    How mistakes can help us move forward

    The last time you got something seriously wrong, what did you learn from it? Maybe you hired the wrong person who…

    16 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了