This post is part of the đź“– Mental Models series.
Today, I am reading the Decision-Making for Speed and Context chapter of the brand new book Mental Models written by Author Peter Hollins.
Mental Models are like giving a treasure map to someone lost in the woods. They provide instant understanding, context, and most importantly, a path to the end destination. Now imagine having such a map for all problems and decisions in your life.
In this book Mental Models, author Peter Hollins discuss 30 mental models that billionaires/CEOs, Olympic athletes, and scientists use to think differently and avoid mistakes.
Battle information overwhelm, focus on what really matters, and make complex decisions with speed and confidence.
Introduction: Chapter 1:
Decision-Making for Speed and Context
What exactly is a mental model?
It’s a blueprint to draw your attention to the important elements of whatever you are facing, and it defines context, background, and direction. You gain understanding even if you lack actual knowledge or experience and make optimal decisions.
Without a mental model, you might see only a random assortment of lines. But with an applicable mental model, it’s like being handed a map to what all those lines mean—now you can correctly interpret information and make an informed decision.
You might be thinking that no model is an entirely perfect reflection of the world, but they don’t have to be. They just need to point us in the right direction to the complexity around us and filter the signal from the noise. Anyway, that’s better than the alternative of being completely blind.
That’s it for today. Tomorrow, we will read the first mental model MM #1: Address “Important”; Ignore “Urgent”, use to separate true priorities from imposters.
Author(s): Peter Hollins
Part 1 of 29 in the đź“– Mental Models book series.