Try this next time you eat: decide whether to pick up the fork or the knife first.

Most people will freeze - madly remembering which one they do first - and no matter which one you pick, you'll be uncomfortable. That's because thinking is hard. And if thinking is hard, why try to think in each new challenge?

Here's an alternative: apply core principles.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The person who grasps principles can successfully select their own methods. The person who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”

Principles are few - even better, they're unchanging.

Because principles are few, you don't need to learn as much. Because principles are few, you can learn what you need to, when you need it. Because principles are few, you can cut out most of the noise.

If Elon Musk, Derek Sivers and Shane Parrish can start with first principles, so can you.