Focus on principles, not the routine

We’re a generation of hacks. Or at least people who want to ‘hack’ things. A lot has been written on how to hack the brain and change the way we think about certain things. Even though my initial reaction to anything that’s about life and wellness and starts with ‘How to…’ is to not take it seriously. It’s a mix of the cognizance that most ‘How to’ articles are a sham and exploit the vulnerability of people desperately trying to fix their lives for likes and views, and a broader understanding that when it comes to life and how to better live it – no single approach works alike for two people. Copying someone will almost always lead to failure because what works for person X is dependent on their background conditions (such as education, personality, friends, parents, attitude, habits etc.), and person Y can never get the same results by trying to copy what X did because they cannot replicate the exact same conditions.

So two things. First, avoid most stuff that talks about how to make your life better (except a couple of websites or people who you genuinely admire and those who have caused a positive change in your life). Second, don’t focus on specifics, focus on the principle.
Focus on the Principles:

Mental models do precisely that. They cut through the noise and focus on what the deeper principle is. I talked about how we only need a few principles that can be applied in almost all situations in life in an earlier post. But to summarize it once again, focusing on the principle behind what has worked for someone else frees us of the urge to imitate the other person, and allows us to think more deeply about how we can apply the principle to ourselves. For example, I admire Naval Ravikant a lot and he routinely says a lot of things about how to live a better and peaceful life but it would be foolish to try to replicate what he did i.e. to imitate his routine, education, habits etc. It can’t work. We don’t have the same background conditions and therefore cannot have the same routine. For example if he says that he wakes up at 6, goes for a run and then meditates for an hour – I might think that if I copy the routine I’ll be more peaceful in life. But that’s wrong. Firstly because I’ll probably not be able to copy his exact routine due to various reasons - I might work well by waking up later, or maybe I have an early morning job, or maybe I have to take my kids out for basketball practice at 8. Secondly, copying a routine is for robots. Robots engage in mindless imitation without thinking about anything deeply. We’re not robots. Routines don’t make for a better life, it is what principles they’re built on that matter. Stop imitating routines, and start focusing on the principles.

Naval in his recent podcast said, ‘what one monkey can do, another can’ to emphasize on how we can learn from others. But the focus again is not on mere copying, but on evaluating and engaging with the principles.

This is where mental models help. Essentially they’re anchors of thoughts – a framework on how to think about certain things. The reason why I like mental models is because they are free from background variables. Because they are ways to think and not act. We all are constrained in physical and biological ways, but we are much freer to think. (The ground rules still apply – don’t take things as true prima facie. There is a Latin saying ‘Nullius in verba’ which means that don’t take anyone’s word for it. Evaluate, assess, use and then adopt).
Simple versus easy

A mental model I’ve been working on is: ‘Any task that seems difficult is likely to be simpler than you assume. Simple is not the same as easy’.

Why does something seem difficult? It’s because that thing lies outside your comfort zone. That’s the bottom line essentially, everything else is a manifestation of why does that thing lie outside your comfort zone. But going back to the explanation – one fundamental aspect of a mental model is that it helps you to cut down the externalities that hinder you. The famous Occam’s razor shaves off the unnecessary details – it simplifies things (doesn’t make anything easier). If you’re smart enough you’ll realize that for most things in life, you cannot make them easier but you can make them simpler. Take researching for something as an example. In order to write a paper you know that you have to read X number of papers to get a sense of the work that’s been done in that field and equip yourself with enough material to write a good paper. (The counterfactual of you not doing your due diligence for the paper and merely referring to a couple of sources to write a lousy paper always exists. That way you’d theoretically have mad the task ‘easier’ by being lazy – but that’s not the assumption we’re working with. Being lazy and thus not working hard is not equal to making anything easier). You know the journal websites you have to check for possible papers, websites for good articles, and the occasional magazines. You know the game. Do A, then B, then C, and you’ll have the paper. This task is not easy, but it’s simple. You can see that to write a good enough paper you can’t really escape the initial due diligence, so there’s not much that you can do to make the task easier per say. Except of course, doing a targeted search in journal websites instead of a Google search will make the process much simpler. A targeted search within a journal reduces the number of steps involved within the whole process, thus making it simpler. Simplifying something is essentially associated with clarity and comprehension of the problem statement. When you simplify something you understand it with more clarity and grasp the concept better. The opposite of simple is complex, not difficult. A thing can be very easy to do but still complex. For example take changing a new born’s diaper for example. It is a task that can be completed in under a minute and after a few tries literally anyone can do it. But for most people who have never done it, it seems complex even when it is really easy. Or a better example is when you marvel at something that you don’t understand. For example an arts graduate might marvel at someone doing simple integration. The problem is essentially an easy problem, but because they don’t understand the way it works, it becomes complex for them. (I am purposefully not arguing in relative terms here. You’ll realize that the more you use the expression ‘it’s relative’ the more conversations you commit to the grave. That’s not a good idea). It might even be said that most of the problems in life are the complex and easy type and our quest is to simplify things, since we can’t really make them easier.

So for example take a research report that you’ve been procrastinating on because you think that it is difficult. Once you dive into the problem statement and start to dispel the fog around the issue by acquiring more knowledge and perspective on it, the process becomes simpler. By reading and researching more, the trifecta of researching – ideating – writing doesn’t appear as difficult to do all of a sudden. You still have to put in the grunt work of reading and researching and ideating and writing, but now you know what to do and how to do it. The task is simpler (not easier) than you thought earlier.

A frame within which one can mechanize this mental model is to always prima facie assume every problem to be simpler than assumed. And then go on to understand more about all of the aspects of the problem (dispelling the fog stage). This way, even if it’s a complex problem, once you assume that it is simple problem you’ll automatically trace only the important parts and linkages of the problem. It also helps to overcome the cognitive bias that stops us from approaching the problem head on which on turn leads to procrastination or lousy problem solving.

A good mental model is one which helps you see things clearly and simplifies things in life. Mental models do not and cannot make anything easier for you. Their task is to help you see more clearly, and simply. Focus on simplifying the problem. The first question you should always ask is ‘How can I simplify this?’.
Jack of all knowledge -
The book(s) I’m currently reading:

I’m still finishing Dissent on Aadhar, and hope to finish it by this weekend. It’s assignment month and thus other things have taken a hit. The next book that I’ll be reading is Doughnut economics: 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist. This book was recommended to me by my sister who is a renewable energy management and sustainable energy masters candidate at Cologne University of Applied Sciences. And yes you guessed it right, she is the brighter sibling between us two.
The Music I’m currently listening:

It is a merry time because I was introduced to a new band by a dear friend. I’ve been playing songs by the band Bombay Bandook on repeat since last week. My favorite being Azad and Ritu Rani. Go listen to their fantastic soundtracks.
The podcast I’m currently listening:

As is usually the case, this time as well I’m listening to a podcast by Naval titled ‘Happiness’. It’s a great perspective on a lot of things - from cultivating happiness to contentment without complacency. Find the episode here. If you’re someone who likes to read transcripts, find the transcript of the episode here.

Please reach out to me with your reaction, thoughts, suggestions, criticism - anything! I’ll be really happy to receive your feedback. I’m on twitter.

That’s it for this edition folks! Hope you liked it.

See you again, soon.