Inversion Thinking

written by JOSH GESSNER | The Curious Competitor

Don’t seek Brilliance. Avoid being Stupid.

Inversion Thinking.

A mental model to enhance your problem-solving skills (and outperform the competition):

In the 1600s, an astronomer looked up at the night sky.

He was fascinated by the movements of the sun, moon and the planets.

His name was Nicolaus Copernicus.

During this time, everyone believed:

The Earth was at the centre of the universe, and everything else revolved around it.

It was an established theory - named the geocentric model.

But as Copernicus observed the planets, he saw something weird.

As he tracked the movement of Mars:

He noticed movements that couldn't be explained by the geocentric model.

He found this troubling.

How can these movements be disregarded as 'irregularities'?

He decided to dive deeper.

As he started to question the geocentric model:

A thought comes to him.

What if... I completely flip my perspective?

Copernicus envisioned a new arrangement.

One where the sun stood at the centre, not the Earth.

This became known as the heliocentric model, one we use today.

Copernicus revolutionized our view of the cosmos:

And served as a great example of the Inversion mental model.

So... what is inversion?

Inversion is thinking about a problem from different angles.

When a problem is too challenging to solve by logical, forward thinking:

Consider the opposite perspective.

I started to think about this more when I found myself stumped on the same problems.

I wanted a way to think through complex problems quickly, and creatively.

Basically: Thinking "Out of the Box".

Just as Copernicus had to look at the universe from a fresh perspective,

Solving complex problems requires:

• Looking at things from a different angle.

• Embracing a new perspective.

• Thinking dynamically

Some examples in real life:

Motivation:

Invert motivation, through negative visualization.

We've all heard of positive visualization:

But what if we inverted, and visualized the negative instead?

Studies have shown the significant impact negative visualization has over positive visualization.

Think of the negative consequences of not taking action, to spark motivation.

Investing:

Warren Buffet says the 2 rules of investing are:

"Rule #1: Never lose money. Rule #2: Never forget Rule #1."

How do we not lose money?

By avoiding stupidity, over seeking brilliance.

In a world where 1 bad trade can set you back years:

Instead of looking for risky investments that could make you a lot of money,

Invert, and look for ways to preserve capital.

I used to trade everyday.

Even though I was profitable:

I consistently got reminded of how hard it is to outperform the market.

The more time I spent trading, the more I resonated with this mid-wit meme:

Productivity:

What would make for the most distracted environment?

• Phone

• Social Media

• Not taking advantage of Parkinson's Law

We can do the opposite to focus.

Tip) Parkinson's Law:

Work expands to fill the time allocated for its completion.

Work longer, get less done.

Allocate an ambitious time goal for each task.

Relationships:

We can also invert successful relationships.

What would make for a terrible relationship?

• Lack of trust

• No communication

• Not investing into the relationship

By inverting relationships we can work from what we want to avoid.

Inversion is a way of thinking about a problem from different angles, by considering the opposite perspective.

Main Lesson:

Next time you face a challenging problem, ask yourself:

"How can I invert my thinking?"

Inversion enhanced my thinking .

I hope it does the same to yours.