🧠 Thinking in Reverse

💡 New Updates to The Wisdom Project | Wisdom Letter #158

Sep 11, 2022

Hey friend 👋

How are you?

An important update for you.

We’re making a pivot here at The Wisdom Project. We are doubling down on the idea of tools for thinking or Thinking Frameworks.

Broadly, by thinking frameworks I mean mental models, cognitive biases, easily applicable concepts applicable across different disciplines of life.

All of which ultimately help us improve our health, wealth and relationships.

This is the “Wisdom” in the wisdom project.

Our endeavor is to help you think better across all aspects of your life.

Because when we think better, we live better!

Here’s how it looks -

Thinking Frameworks » Improved Decision Making » Thinking Better » Living Better!

And we also want to keep the newsletter short and actionable for you.

So from now on our focus will be to discuss 1 thinking framework every week here. And share reading recommendations around only that.

Hope you find this change useful.

Today, let’s start with the framework of “Inverse Thinking” or put simply the mental model of “Inversion”.

What is Inversion ?

You want to be right more times in life?

Then try to be wrong less times.

Inversion is the idea that we should avoid the things that can go wrong instead of fixating only on the things that can go right.

So instead of wondering what can make you fitter, think about what makes you unfit, and actively avoid that.

Do read this, this and this for more quality content around inversion.

Basically it boils down to -

❌ Try to be Fit
✅ Avoid things that make you unfit - unhealthy food, bad lifestyle, etc.
❌ Try to be Rich
✅ Avoid things that make you poor - poor savings rate, no investments, etc.
❌ Try to be Happy
✅ Avoid things that make you sad - poor relationships, no meaning in your work etc.

Applying Inversion

Just thinking in this way will help you feel like you have more agency towards your goals and will actually tell you what exact steps you need to take to achieve what you want to in life.

Inversion was a crucial mental model I used when I made the decision to quit my job and work for myself last year.

I asked myself what I didn’t want in life, and then worked backwards from it.

Stuff I didn’t want -

Status games
Corporate politics
Meaningless Work
No creative freedom
Billions of dollars in my bank account.
To be too busy for life.

This meant that I wanted to build a lifestyle first and make a living around it, instead of finding a job and then trying to force-fit a lifestyle around it.

That’s when it became crystal clear to me that a traditional corporate career was not for me.

This has been the most important and most fulfilling decision of my life. And inversion thinking played a big role in it.

So I really love this mental model 💜

Do let us know what you think of it, just hit reply and share your opinion.

Also, what are your favorite thinking frameworks? Do share with us, we would love to feature them in a future post.

Quote to think about -

“All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there.” - Charlie Munger

Question to ask yourself -

“What does my ideal life look like? What am I doing today that is not part of that life? How can I eliminate that?”

Think about it!

The Wisdom Project