Inversion Thinking: The process of reversing problems in order to solve them

How often have we heard, and believed,  that the only approach we should take with problem solving is to picture the desired outcome and then work back through all the steps needed in order to achieve it – the positive approach.

But the ancient Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca regularly did the opposite, conducting an exercise known as a premeditatio malorum,  Latin for “premeditation of evils.”

The goal of this exercise was to envision the negative things that could happen, believing by imagining the worst-case scenarios ahead of time, they could make better plans to prevent them.

While most people were focused on how they could achieve success, the Stoics also considered how they would avoid or manage failure.

This way of thinking, known as inversion thinking, is a rare skill that can revolutionise problem solving

Inversion thinking forces you to consider aspects that are often not obvious at first glance by asking how not to do something, rather than how to do it.

One of the attributes of great thinkers and innovators is the ability to consider the opposite side of things.

An example of inversion thinking is ‘Success is overvalued - avoiding failure matters more’.

Sometimes it is more important to consider why people fail in life than why they succeed.

Leaders can ask themselves, “What would someone do each day if they were a terrible manager?” and then do their best to avoid those things. Or, if innovation is a core piece of your business model you can ask, “How could we make this company less innovative?” Eliminating those barriers and obstacles might help creative ideas arise more quickly. And every marketing department wants to attract new business, but it might be useful to ask, “What would alienate our core customer?” A different point of view can reveal surprising insights.

Inversion thinking is not about finding good advice, but rather about finding anti-advice. It teaches you what to avoid and shows you what you have been missing.

It is a skill that enables a logical and rational life.

It allows you to step outside your normal patterns of thought and see situations from a different angle, always a good thing.

So, whatever problem you are facing, try considering the opposite side of things. It could just provide the solution you are missing.

 WHO PACKED YOUR PARACHUTE?

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “I know you, your name is Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"

Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today." 

That night Plumb couldn't sleep, thinking about that man.

He says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform, a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was -  just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, each time holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?"

You see, every day, somewhere, there is somebody, who you may not even know, who is performing some task that may literally or figuratively, have the potential of saving your life.

No man is an island, we are all dependent, in some way, on each other for our success, perhaps our lives.

So, ask yourself, today, “whose packing my parachute?” 

And, more importantly, “whose parachute am I packing -  and am I doing it well?”

Self Discipline plus Self Kindness

I read something recently that got me, once again, thinking about self discipline. Often in our endeavour to be disciplined we confuse being hard and tough on ourselves with discipline, but the two are not the same. Deprivation is not discipline, nor is emotional, psychological or even physical ‘self flagellation’.

Self discipline results from the ability to make, and carry out,  choices that are right and necessary to achieve desired goals, rather than to run with what is enjoyable or pleasurable. In fact, extreme and unbalanced self discipline is a form of self indulgence.

No, self discipline needs to be tempered with ‘self kindness’ in order to create a healthy balance and achieve the positive results that we look for. There is an injunction that ‘we should love others as we love ourselves’ the implication being that unless we show ourselves some love we will not be able to love others.

Self discipline and self kindness are not opposed, and , in fact, work hand in hand to achieve the ultimate success we look for. And most importantly it prevents the situation where our harsh, self disciplined lifestyle becomes a burden to those around us.

Surely, the ultimate definition of success should be success in all facets of life, not just in one, at the expense of all the others.

At the end of the day, yes, we do need to apply discipline to ourselves and our lives, but as we do that, let’s not forget to show ourselves some kindness.

Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

What type of energy do you have in the morning, or later in the day? What task is that energy best suited for?

Take a moment to think about it and you'll  realize that your energy levels  are higher at various times during the course of a day,  and you are therefore better suited to  doing certain tasks at certain times.

For example many people, of which I am one,  have energy levels that are highest in the morning, so that's the time to do all those tasks requiring high mental, physical and emotional energy.

I personally like to start my day with a workout as that seems to increase my energy levels, and then tackle those tasks requiring high creativity or problem solving.

I can then block out afternoons for those tasks that don’t need high energy like phone calls, emails and admin.

Time is constant, but energy levels fluctuate and differ from person to person, and it is best to not try to fit everybody into a standard timetable.

So, instead of focussing on managing time start focussing on applying your energy to time, in order to be most effective, productive and less stressed.