--- title: How to Approach Life Mindfully, According to Sherlock Holmes description: "The smallest point may be the most essential." canonical: https://time.com/4078240/sherlock-holmes-quotes/ author: Shane Parrish article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-26T04:01:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:48:17.017Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Approach Life Mindfully, According to Sherlock Holmes og:description: "The smallest point may be the most essential" og:url: https://time.com/4078240/sherlock-holmes-quotes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt744d4e15d9c96a37/698868d30a4a2291cf9c69dc/sherlock-holmes-statue-baker-street-london.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3468 og:image:height: 1951 og:image:alt: The Sherlock Holmes statue on Baker Street in London. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Approach Life Mindfully, According to Sherlock Holmes twitter:description: "The smallest point may be the most essential" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt744d4e15d9c96a37/698868d30a4a2291cf9c69dc/sherlock-holmes-statue-baker-street-london.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Approach Life Mindfully, According to Sherlock Holmes > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Oct 26, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  The Sherlock Holmes statue on Baker Street in London. The Sherlock Holmes statue on Baker Street in London. Andrew Holt—Getty Images by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Oct 26, 2015 4:01 AM UTC Peter Bevelin’s first book, [_Seeking Wisdom from Darwin to Munger_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578644283/?tag=timecom-20), is a one of the best books you’ve never heard of. He’s just released another book, [_A Few Lessons from Sherlock Holmes_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780924488/?tag=timecom-20) ([Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMGK97I/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00DMGK97I&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20)), aimed at those who want to improve their thinking. I’m a big fan of [Sherlock Holmes](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553328255/?tag=timecom-20), and Peter is not the first person to explore the wisdom that can be drawn. Maria Konnikova’s book, [_Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670026573/?tag=timecom-20), [takes a deep look at Sherlock Holmes’s methodology](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/04/how-to-think-like-sherlock-holmes/) to develop the habits of mind that will allow us to mindfully engage the world. Peter’s book is shorter and encourages you to draw your own conclusions. He’s distilled Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective Sherlock Holmes into principles and quotes. --- > “” --- Let’s look at some of the lessons Bevelin brings to our attention. “What distinguishes Holmes from most mortals,” Bevelin writes, “is that he knows where to look and what questions to ask. He pays attention to the important things and he knows where to find them.” **Many ideas over a wide range of disciplines helps us gain perspective** --- > “” --- **The memory attic** --- > “” --- **So says the statistician** --- > “” --- **Knowledge doesn’t make us wise** One of the best things about Peter is how he adds outsiders to the mix. He inserts this quote from Montaigne: --- > “” --- **Never jump to conclusions** --- > “” --- **Don’t theorize before data** --- > “” --- **Make sure facts are facts** --- > “” --- **Don’t miss the forest for the trees** --- > “” --- **Small things may be important** --- > “” --- **What we see** --- > “” --- **Take time to think things over** --- > “” --- Peter’s books tend to become very hard to find a few months after they are released. Used editions often sell well above cover price, so if you’re interested, I’d encourage you to order [_A Few Lessons From Sherlock Holmes_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMGK97I/?tag=timecom-20) today. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Farnam Street_**](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/09/a-few-lessons-from-sherlock-holmes/)**_._** **Join over 60,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/newsletter/)**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4078240/sherlock-holmes-quotes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4078240/sherlock-holmes-quotes/"},"headline":"How to Approach Life Mindfully, According to Sherlock Holmes","datePublished":"2015-10-26T04:01:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:48:17.017Z","description":"\"The smallest point may be the most essential.\"","url":"https://time.com/4078240/sherlock-holmes-quotes/","keywords":["Psychology","Books","Quotes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt744d4e15d9c96a37/698868d30a4a2291cf9c69dc/sherlock-holmes-statue-baker-street-london.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shane Parrish","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt744d4e15d9c96a37/698868d30a4a2291cf9c69dc/sherlock-holmes-statue-baker-street-london.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Sherlock Holmes statue on Baker Street in London.","caption":"The Sherlock Holmes statue on Baker Street in London.","creditText":"Andrew Holt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4078240/sherlock-holmes-quotes/","name":"How to Approach Life Mindfully, According to Sherlock Holmes"}}]}] ```