Category: Articles (Page 10 of 14)

“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labour of thinking.” – Robert Beno Cialdini

That’s the quote that has got me thinking since yesterday.

So there’s a labour of thinking?

And human will go to all extent to avoid that labour.

Why?

When was last time you think?

Not thought about what you will eat tomorrow. Thoughts like

What’s the universe made of?

Why would human go to any extent to avoid the labour of thinking?

Why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people?

Why is it that 2 humans raised under the same condition will grow up to be opposite of each other in all things?

Why is it that things left on their own move from orderliness to disorderliness?

When was the last time you took a question and spend weeks or months thinking about it?

There’s a real labour of thinking and there is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid it.

I’ve been thinking about that since yesterday.

We were thought to think with boundaries, yet the world as we have it and the kind of problems we will face are not aware of any boundaries.

“Reality does not divide itself into disciplines – physics, biology, psychology…Disciplines are a human endeavour to divide reality into bite-sized, digestible chunks. Experience has no boundaries. It creates value by connecting the dots to understand reality.”

– Reading guru

When we began acquiring knowledge as beings (Homo Sapiens), we didn’t start out thinking of ourselves as a Software Engineer or an Artist or an Accountant. We started by recognizing a problem and devising a means to solve them.

The means to the solution may cut across many divides that we create today in terms of Engineering, Design, Art and so on but it doesn’t matter then (nor now). What mattered then was solving problems. It’s of no importance if you are a Mathematician or an Accountant, you combined all skills necessary to get the problem solved. That’s reality, that’s the world we still live in. A world where our problems are agnostics of our discipline or course of study at the University, a world where we are daily confronted with wicked problems than need to be fixed somehow.

Industrial revolution, civilization and advancement in technology brought about the need to create disciplines, our attempt at dividing reality into some bit-sized digestible doze. But the reality hasn’t changed and still requires a mind without boundary to masterfully navigate it and solve it’s wicked problems.

It also true that we have so much developed in knowledge as a being that it will be impossible for one person to absorb perfect knowledge from all disciplines or become an expert in all disciplines. That will just be too much for a person to absorb.

How then can we develop a mind without boundary to solve wicked problems that our one boundaried mind can’t solve?

The best way to this was an advise given by Chalie Munger in his 2007 address at USC.

Charlie Munger:

If you generalize Cicero as I think one should, there are all these other things that you should know in addition to history, and those other things are the big ideas in all the other disciplines. And it doesn’t help you just to know them enough just so you can prattle them back on an exam and get an A. You have to learn these things in such a way that they’re in a mental latticework in your head and you automatically use them for the rest of your life.

If you do that, I solemnly promise you that one day you’ll be walking down the street and look to your right and left and think, “My heavenly days! I’m now one of the few most competent people of my whole age forward.” If you don’t do it, many of the brightest of you will live in the middle ranks or in the shallows.

Charlie’s solution for the challenge before us is simple. Agreed, you can’t sit down to study all disciplines in the world as we have them now, there is just not enough time for that. In fact, when you look at all those disciplines, not everything that they have to offer are needed or necessary to masterfully navigate the world. So he proposed we study the big ideas of all disciplines, add them to our mental latticework and automatically use them for the rest our life.

This I’ve been doing in a very long while as I continually try to build a mind without boundary.

In future posts, I will be taking these big ideas one after the other to explain how they can help us build a mind without boundary, make better decisions and navigate life masterfully.

Comment below if you are excited to learn how to build a mind without boundary.

Life is full ups and downs, but the Instagram culture that has taken this world by storm will have us believe it’s always about winning because winning is the only thing that makes it to instagram.

Here’s a part of my story you don’t hear often but it’s always great to hear them.

Everyday and when I say everyday, I mean everyday, I struggle to get my work done. I wake up sometimes thinking “must I work today,” other times, I open my laptop and stare at my laptop a whole day without getting anything done. You see me write a lot, but I also struggle with writing every now and then. Yes, I write with joy but it doesn’t reduce the uneasiness that comes with it.

Sometimes I wonder if what I’m doing has meaning at all. Other times I wonder if it will amount to anything. It’s a daily struggle here and there.

Sometimes I feel like I’m winning, sometimes like I’m losing, other times, I can’t even tell what I’m feeling.

But that only makes me human. It’s never always winning for anyone, it’s just about what we talk about. And we say the good ones more.

I can go on listing all the struggles… but I should stop already, my message should be clear, it’s never a straight line of winning.

A tendency when we hear about other people’s struggles is to wish the tables were turned and you take on there’s while you let go of yours. But that’s not the way to progress in life. You see the Bible was right when it says “we all have the capacity to handle our struggles.” Anecdotal evidence supports this as well. Think about your struggles of 10 weeks ago, can you even remember them? Almost no.

What you want to optimize for at every point of your life is that when you look back, it should be clear that you’ve been progressing.

Days are designed to be chaotic and there’s nothing you can do to stop that. The same day that you feel hyper happy you can reach your deepest low on those days. But if I may ask you again the lows you were feeling 10 weeks ago, what about them now? Forgotten.

Make sure you don’t do anything funny during your low periods. Just cope with them. Yes, cope with them because you can’t wish them away. You are blessed if you have a shoulder (parent, wife, husband, friend, girlfriend or boyfriend etc) to lean on when you feel those lows.

It makes us human. Yes the ups and downs is a good reminder of our humanity.

Here’s what I’ve learned as well, embracing realities of life like this helps us to cope with than denying them.

My understanding of nature is that “it is best conquered when we align with it. Don’t fight it.” Embracing your lows is a difficult one, but it’s a good response to it.

Here’s another thing that I noticed. Many times, what brings us to those lows are our perception of reality not reality itself. Reality is objective, it brings no one down or lift anyone up. It’s just there. Our perception of it determines what we feel. And our perception is in our control but we can’t also over control it. Life isn’t balance.

Perception of reality

Recently, I did a work, I wasn’t sure what to make of the work so I was feeling low (the work itself is objective remember, my perception was brought me low). It turns out the work was great as it well received by the client. However, my period of feeling low has pushed me to do deatiled and well researched work on another project.

You see why we can’t over control our perception now. Some times those perceptions that makes us feel low push us towards excellence and breakthrough.

The best we can do is accept being human and embrace our humanity. We can’t over optimize it.

If you are in a position where you feel low currently, I’m telling you that it’s fine we all feel it. The best among us those, you might not just see it. Don’t wish it away (wishing away is our default response but it never works, I know because I’ve done it), but let it lead you to a path where your life must go. Embrace your humanity and you tend to be fine in the long enough time.

Have a great week starting.

We do things that are contrary to what we set out to do, more often than we care to observe. That makes us our enemies. But how can we put a stop to that or minimize it?

Yesterday’s article “You Are Your Enemy” seeks to uncover hidden conditioning that are meant to keep us from doing what we most desire to do and it was enlightening. The next question that follows revelation is “how can we change the narrative.” It’s not enough to point out a problem if we can’t search for the answer.

I must start by saying I don’t have a definite answer to this question. The fact that I pointed them out intellectually doesn’t mean I’m immune to the conditioning. I just live everyday with the understanding that “I am my enemy” and I try to minimize the effect of that.

That said, I found a thought provoking probable solution to this. It was something from Jim Oshaughnessy. Here’s what he has to say:

I think knowing something “intellectually” offers little help with our ability to truly understand our many failings and build systems and processes for minimizing their impact on us. The power of emotions, the power of narratives, and the power of self-deception are exponentially more powerful than a dispassionate and longer-term view and almost always win.

An ounce of emotions equals a pound of facts. To truly break free is both hard and frightening. We risk being ostracized and labeled heretics and apostates.

The only person who can change you is you. If you want to truly succeed at virtually any aspect of life, you must begin to dig deep on all your beliefs and assumptions. You must challenge each one, no matter how basic. When we look at history, we see that most beliefs and commonly accepted “truths” were, in fact, wrong. Why should we be any different?

Looking at life as a series of probabilities as opposed to absolutes allows you to discard beliefs that are no longer useful and adopt new ones that are. Always aim to go further.

All emphasis mine

Jim’s words are profound at helping us find a solution to our innate problems. And I like the beginning of that. He made it clear that “intellectual knowledge of our problems is not enough to help us solve it, we must do more.” That explains why I still struggle with being my enemy despite intellectual awareness. But here’s what I noticed, intellectual awareness can give you the illusion of a solution, don’t fall for it.

He also said one thing that strikes me, “seeking a solution will place you on a part where you risk being labeled heretics and apostates.” I’ve had a share of this is the reason why it strikes me as a thoughtful observation. You see, to allow yourself for example hold on to a stock when everyone is selling will put you in an awkward position, to take a sleep of 8 hours a day when folks around you take pride in 4 hours sleep per week won’t make you their favourite. All attempts to optimize against your natural tendencies puts you in a position where labeling is easy.

But the only person who can change you is you. Just you. And that requires some guts and hard work and contrarian spirit. By Jim’s explanation, it includes having to “question your beliefs and reexamining them,” it ends on seeing life as a series of probabilities and not some absolutes.

Why do you take pride in 4 hours sleep per week?

Why did you buy the stock?

What’s stopping you from fixing the friction in your relationship?

Answering all these questions and all others that may have subjected you to your natural tendencies will get you close to your beliefs and provide you an opportunity to reexamine them. Ultimately, triumph comes when you see probabilities in life more than you see absolutes. That must not go without saying, there are no absolute fix as well, you must keep working.

Our natural conditioning subjects us to a lifestyle where what’s most convenient for us to do are things we don’t want to do.

One of the very important lessons I learnt from Cognitive Science is that “I am my enemy and you are your enemy as well”

It’s really interesting to learn that’s exactly what we do to ourselves. Let’s consider a few example.

I know doing “this and that” will take me to the next income level that I desire but I don’t do what’s necessary. Am I not harming myself myself that way?

I know that changing “that thing” will stop the friction in my relationship but I won’t change still. Am I not in fierce opposition against myself?

I know that 10 minutes of daily meditation will give me good mental health but still I won’t do it. What can we call that sort of opposition where doing what’s best for me is not what I do?

I know sleeping for 8 hours a day will improve my health and help me live longer but I take pride in posting on social media that I’ve only slept 4 hours in the past week.

Am I not my enemy?

I know that not spending that money but investing it will help me build wealth habit but I still spent it.

I know that the stock will most likely do good given time but I will still sell it at a loss.

Definitely, I am my enemy and you are your enemy.

A very good question will be what then can we do salvage the situation? Look out for what I will be sharing tomorrow where I will try and find a solution to our natural conditioning and optimize against the condition that positions us as our own enemies.

We try a lot to judge things from the prism of black and white but does anything under the green planet qualify for such prism?

Human misjudgment is a concept that grabbed my attention since I learnt about it from Charlie Munger.

The idea of misjudgment is simple, because of our psychological and cognitive conditioning as human, we tend to falter at the point of decision making (usually requires judgement).

One mental model to arm yourself with to deal with such conditioning is what I want to share with you today.

The default state of our mind when confronted with situations is usually to categorize them under the two prisms: Good or bad, righteous or evil, white or black and so on. It’s easier for the brain to understand things like that than for your to tell it Grey. Did you notice there’s a part of your brain that still tend to see grey as black?

The reason for this is not far fetched, thousands of years ago while we were still in our primitive state as hunter-gatherer and our brain was developing, the prevailing conditions of that time requires such judgement.

The lion will kill you or you run away (no room for grey – maybe the lion’s teeth has been removed that’s why it can walk around in the neighborhood).

You either eat now or you go hungry (no room for grey – there was no way to preserve the foods)

The oncoming man is either from my tribe or against my tribe (no room for grey – maybe he missed his roads. Times when such grey was entertained, it didn’t end well.)

Those were the kind of conditions under which the brain was developed. So it has become accustomed to such prism of judgment for decision making. And it took a lot for the brain to develop to it’s current state so it won’t just adjust to a new reality overnight.

But you need to conciously move away from such a worldview. Many things in life will qualify for a grey definition than black and white could ever have.

So the next time you are confronted with the need to pass a judgement, take a pause from concluding black or white. Let your first assumption be grey. Seeing grey gives you room to be able to consider things from an unbiased mind.

If you’ve judge white, it becomes difficult to change it to black. If you’ve judged black, even more difficult to change it to white. But if your initial condition is grey, you give yourself room to consider all available data objectively and to make an informed conclusion later on.

Your only best bet to getting what you want from life

I wrote an article once. The central idea of the article was that “you won’t get what you want or what you are after because you aren’t going to do the work it requires to get it.”

That’s still very much valid.

Don’t say this or that is what you can do or can’t do until you’ve actually done it and gave it your best while doing.

If there’s a thing that almost all people run away from because it’s hard, then you will put yourself in a place of great advantage if you run towards such.

The reverse is also true, the more people run towards a thing, the lesser the value you will derive from joining the bandwagon. Or you may have to do the extraordinary to make any difference.

God played the fat tail risk hedge you should as well. He did when He was distributing talents to his workers. About the guy He gave just one talent, He had estimated that if the guy could use it well, it might return 10x or more. And of course, since he didn’t use it well, God reallocated His capital.

You should also play that game. Take a skill that is hard to grasp and it might be what will give you the 10x return. If you fail to grasp it, what you learnt while doing something hard will never go to waste. And if you are able to learn, 10x return may await you. You are ready better of doing something hard than doing the easy things.

What a lot of you don’t understand is that doing seemingly hard things have rewards that are asymmetric. That is, little effort can bring you rewards beyond measure.

That’s counter-intuitive in a way. Very few people in the world are doing the hard things, so society attaches more value to your little effort than you may even attach yourself.

On the contrary, doing the easy things doesn’t confer much value, and it doesn’t matter how much time you spent to do the easy thing. It’s not just so valuable to the society because they can get 100 other people who can do same.

To get more value from easy things, you will have to do it in an uncommon way, but that too is already entering the realm of hard things (hard things can also easy done in an extraordinary way). Those who seek ease aren’t that much on the side of favor with the society.

Another thing that adds value to both hard and easy things is “skin in the game”

I’ve been there is much more valuable than I read about “there.”

I’ve done it is also more important than I’ve seen someone done it.

Another concept of value I stumbled on is what Andrew Chen called “having a thing”

Having a thing confers more value perception than not having a thing.

Having a thing is about having something you are building, accompanied by proper documentation.

We all seek financial independence and that doesn’t come without a certain level of money. However, money is only a representation of value and except you offer value to the society, you are far from financial independence.

Ask yourself, what value can I add to this so and so individual or company if I met them or work for them.

If you have nothing that can come out of you (independent of a body-coporate) that another person is wiling to pay for, you have work to do.

From where this started, I will say again, you won’t get all you want because you won’t do all that’s required to get it. And more often than not, it usually requires doing hard things.

Here are 3 things I learnt from in the past week:

• The act of looking at something changes it – an effect that holds true for people, animals, even atoms. Here’s how the observer effect distorts our world and how we can get a more accurate picture. – The Observer Effect: Seeing Is Changing

• On Game Theory – What makes it possible for cooperation to emerge is the knowledge between the players that they may meet again. They are not playing a single game, but an integrated one. This means that the choices today not only determine the outcome of this move but can influence the later choices of the players. – Tit for Tat and The Evolution of Cooperation

• Podcast I enjoyed – Infinite Loops spoke with Rory Sutherland, Author of Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life. They discussed: The relationship between marketing and innovation, Human psychology and behavioral economics, The importance of framing, & “Stated” preferences and “Revealed” preferences