In 1995, Charlie Munger said during a speech at Harvard Law School: When I felt inferior due to poverty, three habits changed me.
One of them is: Invert, always invert.
Translated, it means: think in reverse, always think in reverse.
Whether in speeches, interviews, or autobiographies, this sentence has been repeatedly mentioned by Munger.
01 Adults need to filter.
Reverse thinking basically means understanding the subtleties when dealing with people and events, not following the crowd, which shows that you are knowledgeable. Most people, in addition to lacking money, lack the ability to see through the underlying logic.
The values of people at the bottom are very solid, tightly controlled by some daily concepts.
It seems that they are making their own decisions, but in reality, their concepts are making decisions in their subconscious.
What is most lacking is the awareness and ability to think in reverse or step out of this circle to see things.
The most obvious feature of reverse thinking is that it does not follow conventional methods, does not adhere to routines, and is good at thinking about problems from different angles. When thinking is blocked in one direction, it immediately changes to a new direction, analyzes problems using different thinking results, and finds new directions to achieve breakthroughs.
Moreover, unconventional reverse thinking often unleashes extraordinary power.
There is a very expensive training course that simply talks about this, which is the lateral thinking method proposed by Dr. Edward de Bono in 1967.
It can be said that reverse thinking is a very good perspective for filtering people.
02 An expert knows if something is valid at a glance.
Many people say they no longer want to live a life filled with financial worries and want to change, but they just talk about it. When faced with a little difficulty, they retreat back to their comfort zones, like often going back to their hometowns in search of so-called security.
Many things I dare not write or say, didn't I mention it in my earlier articles? A weak mother gives rise to merchants, a strong father makes a minister.
Family reputation stays in the original place, and the poor go to other places. The general meaning is: If your parents' family is weak, then you need to learn to do business or start a career to change your fate; if your parents' family is strong, then you need to learn to rely on them and enter government service; if you come from a prestigious family, then use the family name to develop locally; if you are from a poor family, then you need to go far away to seek opportunities.
This article has a high readership; some people have taken it to heart rather than coming to argue with me. This is also a form of reverse thinking, after all, honest advice is often hard to hear.
A skilled person's thinking grows during the process of doing things, rather than being very capable from the beginning. They also hear many unpleasant suggestions.
However, under reverse thinking, although it is exhausting, it is indeed helpful for growth.
For example, fresh graduates are asked by their superiors to sort through thousands of original receipts.
Sorting through one by one is very tiring, but persisting will improve your patience and attention to detail.
After 10 years, when you see whether the newcomers think and act like you, you will be able to tell if they are worth nurturing.
Does this newcomer have a future?
A true master, when you meet him, you will find his unique aura.
The perspective from which he analyzes problems is refreshing and makes one realize that a true expert can tell right away if something is valid.
03 The threshold should be viewed in reverse.
Laozi said in the (Tao Te Ching) - "Reversal is the movement of the Way, the weak is the application of the Way," meaning that when things develop to the limit, they will turn to the opposite, extremes must reverse.
This is a typical reverse thinking, and also a dialectical method.
Dialectics can be simply described as reverse thinking, which is what Chairman Mao was best at.
For example, he often likes to cite examples of people's birth, aging, illness, and death; no one, including him, can live forever.
Reverse thinking tells us not to have a mindset of taking advantage.
Just like Charlie Munger said: The most reliable way to get what you want is to make yourself worthy of it.
And one of the flaws of people at the bottom is that they like to take small advantages.
Often this will lead to small losses for big gains, failing to calculate the big picture or the total.
It seems advantageous and self-satisfied, but in reality, they are unaware of losing big for small gains.
In this era, many organizations and jobs require collaboration and team-building skills.
For such people, how many would be willing to cooperate with him? Many would probably be wary of him.
How much you can earn always has to return to value; although the price fluctuates around value, this is also a form of reverse thinking.
Money that comes from getting rich overnight cannot be retained, just like many NBA stars who earn a lot of money.
Then they retired. Except for Jordan, very few of them could manage this money well, and eventually, they all lost it. Even if they didn't work, they wouldn't have money to eat.
Although it's cruel, this is the law of society!
"Reverse thinking" is originally a mathematical concept, but it has been embraced by billionaires like Charlie Munger and Elon Musk.
Elon Musk once pointed out that 99% of people are positive thinkers, and only reverse thinking can make you stand out and be different.
When encountering problems, do not rush to respond, but instead look at the big picture and think both ways to find the best solution.
However, in reality, most of us are like that merchant who only knows how to reinforce the cage, stubbornly grappling with the immediate problem and refusing to change paths even if it leads to exhaustion.
This is typical linear thinking.
If thinking is a wall, the world is on the other side of the wall.
This world never has a dead end; what can stop you is only your rigid thinking.
When you encounter a dead end, why not turn around? You might just find a way out.
How to cultivate "reverse thinking"? Here are two suggestions for you:
1. Treat the result as the starting point.
Experience is a double-edged sword. It makes us more efficient in problem-solving, but it can also easily trap us in fixed thinking patterns.
Tengxun's vice president Qie Xiaohu, years ago when working at Guge, was responsible for improving advertising conversion rates.
At that time, the conversion rate in the China region was very low. He and his colleagues tried various methods to solve this issue, such as enlarging the font of the advertisements and changing the background color, but none were effective.
Just when the department was in a quandary, Qie Xiaohu began to ponder: How would users use it?
To this end, it began to mimic user habits and found that, due to many websites placing a pile of dense advertisements at the top, Chinese users often skip the top and go straight to browse below.
And the display position of the advertisement happened to be at the very top.
So at Qie Xiaohu's suggestion, the company moved the advertisement to the bottom, and soon the conversion rate improved.
With exceptional thinking ability, Qie Xiaohu gained recognition from his superior and was soon promoted to supervisor.
When viewing problems, please take more time to stand in a favorable position, allowing you to have a broad perspective and see the overall situation, rather than being limited to the specific problem that attracted you at first.
Trace back to the source, focus on the big picture, treat the result as the starting point, and find the key nodes of the problem to strike decisively.
2. Don't let your hands and feet move ahead of your brain.
We tend to assume that each problem corresponds to a standard answer.
So when encountering problems, they always act impulsively without thinking, immediately starting to solve the problem.
This linear thinking can trap you in a cage, making you exhausted and always passive.
But reverse thinking tells us that sometimes the problem itself is the key.
You should analyze your thinking structure; it's not too late.
Charlie Munger said: Think forward, but also learn to look backward.
Truly outstanding individuals not only work hard but also understand how to look ahead.
If you feel stuck in your progress, why not try reverse thinking and change to another track? (转、网络)
