The Great Mental Models

The Great Mental Models will improve your decision-making process by sharing some unique but well-documented thinking models you can use to interact more efficiently with the world and other people.

In life, there are certain things we excel at, and certain things that feel strange to us. It’s important to have a good grasp on both, Parrish suggests.

Our areas of competence feel natural and easy to explore. This is because, as we repeat a task, we become accustomed to it and our mind doesn’t need to actively engage in the process of doing it. Therefore, being aware of your circle of competence is essential for success. If you think about it, it’s simple – playing on your strong points will assure that you complete all tasks successfully, thus minimizing the chances of failure.

Moreover, being aware of your strengths and weaknesses will help you save time and be more productive. Let’s say you’re good with numbers and finance, so you’re able to file your taxes properly by the end of the year. However, you lack cooking skills, so it might be a good idea to shop for already cooked meals for the holidays. This way, you’ll save time and make sure that everything is completed successfully.

Although it may sound simple, you’d be surprised to find out how many of us let our egoes run get in the way of our decisions. Sometimes it’s hard to admit that we may not be good at something, especially if it’s a common skill between those around us. However, not knowing when to seek help is detrimental to our efficiency and can delay our success.

Most people approach their problems wrong. Instead of curing the cause, they try to alleviate its symptoms. On top of that, you should be looking to prevent it from ever occurring again. So where to start? Essentially, you’ll want to look at the first principles of a problem, the ones that caused it in the first place. Think outside the box and find the root cause of the matter. When you find it, ask yourself if fixing it will prevent it from occurring again. That way, you’ll know if you truly fixed it, or it’s just a temporary fix. The second way to address a problem is through inversion, which implies turning the problem-solving process upside down. You can do that in two ways. The first way would be to assume that something is true and then go backwards to look for what else needs to be true as well to fulfill your scenario. For example, let’s say you’re extremely wealthy. What else would need to be true for it to be the case? Things like not…