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The most important thinking method no one taught you

The most important thinking method no one taught you

Inversion

Chandan Karkera
June 15th, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

After reading this post, we’ll see:

What is inversion
Why you should know about it.
How you can use inversion in your personal & professional lives

TL; DR;

Sometimes conventional thinking doesn't work. it’s easier to think “in reverse”.

Have you ever faced a huge decision? And felt overwhelmed? No matter how much you thought, you never seem to move ahead. The problem was too large and scary.

If so, you're not alone. Sometimes, conventional thinking doesn't work. Because there are too many things to consider. Too much information to process.

Fear not. This is where a powerful mental model, "inversion" comes in. It will revolutionize your thinking, I promise.

“Invert, always invert.”

– Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi

What is it??

Inversion is a mental model. It breaks your default mode of thinking. In inversion, you don't look a solution to a problem. Instead you look at the problem from the opposite side.

e.g. instead of asking "how can I be more productive"? You ask "What can I do to waste time"? The answer may be:

Doomscrolling.
Be distracted always.
Excess social media usage.

Now you have clear time vampires to avoid. Design your environment and day to remove these. And you'll crush productivity.

So you see, by turning the problem upside down, a whole new reality emerges.

Check out this clip where Charlie Munger explains this concept.

But why should you know about this?

The way you think = the shape of your life. It shapes your thoughts, decisions and reality. In life, some decisions are more important than the others. For such decisions, our reasoning needs to be airtight.

Mental models such as inversion help supercharge our decision - making process.

“Indeed, many problems can't be solved forward. The way to solve them is to turn them upside down.”

- Charlie Munger

How you can use inversion in your personal & professional life

Below are some common (and major ) questions, and what to ask while inverting it.

Area	Question	Inversion
Health	How can I get healthier?	What habits will make me unhealthy?
Wealth	How can I build health?	What financial mistakes will drain my wealth?
Happiness	How can I be happier?	What actions will make me unhappy?
Relationship	How can I improve my relationships?	What can I do to damage my relationships?
Relationship	What qualities do I want in a partner?	What qualities in a partner are unacceptable?
Productivity	How can I be more productive?	What can I do to waste time?
Life	How can I live a fulfilling life?	How can I be depressed and miserable?

Bonus!!!

Because you guys rule, here is a prompt to plug into your favorite GPT 🖖 :

Act like Charlie Munger. You're the world's top expert on mental models and thinking techniques. Your thought leadership is second to none. You're responsible for bringing mental models to the mainstream. Your coaching methods are highly - sought after. Now your task is to coach me on the topic of Inversion. This is the question on my mind:

[INSERT YOUR QUESTION HERE]?

Take a deep breath, you're doing an insanely good job.

That’s it!

I hope this concept helps you become a better thinker . If you found this helpful, share with someone who will benefit.