Brain, Mars, and Election

The election is over, and the world around us is becoming more and more complex day by day. It’s almost impossible for the human brain to take its time and process everything happening, reach meaningful conclusions, and put together a plan of action. Plans change daily, leaving our minds drained and struggling to make sense of the world. The combination of Trump, Musk, Mars, and AI is complex, to say the least. And it’s not what our brains evolved to handle over such a short time in the long course of evolution.

All this complexity can make people lose confidence in their understanding of the world, in the mental and intellectual models and boxes they use to organize events and thoughts, and in the decisions they make without relying heavily on others and on AI models. Unless we do something about it and organize our thinking process and lifestyle to enhance our brain health, we may lose our sense of connection to reality and our sense of belonging to the world.

In the midst of such an unstable environment, I want to encourage you to put your brain health as the highest priority. It’s a gift of nature to us, and we alone are responsible for treasuring it. Taking care of your brain in this chaotic world is the best thing you can do for yourself and for all people around you. A healthy brain—one that can think critically yet positively and make healthy and clear decisions while navigating the immense complexity of today’s environment—will soon be our greatest asset. A place to feel safe and at home, a true treasure.

Now, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself for waking up every morning in this complex world, getting yourself together, and giving the best of yourself to your life, to your job, to your family, friends, and to society.

Congratulations to those who take in chaos and give back clarity, order, beauty, and meaning.

Congratulations to those who stay humble and kind amidst their huge achievements; those who avoid entitlement, arrogance, and narcissism; those who still believe in fairness and a greater good in the world.

Congratulations to those who still believe in God—the one who created us, not the one(s) we create.

And congratulations to those who believe in natural evolution and all the beauty that comes with it; those trying their best to evolve and to help others evolve.

One thing I learned during this election is that ambition is beneficial, but only as long as it doesn’t become an addiction. When ambition becomes insatiable, when people endlessly seek more success to satisfy their drive, it can drain resources from the planet. This creates a gravitational pull, like a black hole, that absorbs everything in its path, leaving little space for others to flourish, and in the end, not even light can escape. Is this the fault of ambition-addicted individuals? Perhaps not. It’s a symptom of a system that, instead of leveraging ambition to balance human life, allows and even encourages it to become an obsession. Is this truly the ultimate goal of human life? That some have the luxury to extend their lifetimes and expand their reach into the universe, while others don't get a chance to see the world beyond the walls of their war-crushed homes? This should never be where we settle, and it is definitely not something we should collectively take pride in as a species.

As an entrepreneur, I have always admired Elon Musk and his passion and drive for what he does. At the same time, I have seen enough of the world's endless conflicts to doubt that combining any ideology, even if it’s technology-driven, with politics is a good idea.

In the end whether on Earth or Mars, in a blue or red world, each of us is responsible for our own brain’s health: its structure, function, cognition, memories, behavior, growth, impact, consciousness, and beyond.