Living by Design

Systems thinking:

1. Locating your rung. Think of a recurring problem you've "fixed" recently. Which rung of the leverage ladder was the fix on? Why do you think most of us default to rung 1 (numbers) even when it keeps failing?
2. Structure vs. willpower. Moving the phone out of the bedroom changes the default path rather than relying on discipline. Where in your life are you relying on willpower to counteract a structure that works against you? What would it take to redesign that structure?
3. Making the invisible visible. Information flows can change behavior "without any rule or argument." Why might simply seeing a hidden stock (a workload, a shared task list) shift behavior? Can you think of a case where making something visible backfired or created new problems?
4. Rules and goals. Changing a rule means changing what the system optimizes for. Pick a system you belong to (a team, a household, a class). What is it actually optimizing for, as opposed to what it claims to optimize for, and how can you tell the difference?
5. Paradigms. The text calls "busy = valuable" a deep assumption that everything downstream is built on. What other unspoken beliefs shape how people structure their time, work, or relationships? How would you surface a paradigm that no one has ever stated out loud?
6. The cost of climbing. Higher rungs have more leverage but are "slowest to shift." When is it wiser to stay on a lower rung? How do you decide between a quick, low-leverage fix and a slow, high-leverage one?
7. Regime and niche. Why do head-on assaults on a locked-in "regime" so often fail? What defends a regime besides your own habits, and how might others' expectations quietly sabotage a change?
8. Designing a niche. Describe a small, low-stakes experiment you could protect from your current regime. What makes it a niche rather than just a half-hearted attempt, and what would a "landscape shift" look like that signals it's time to expand?
9. Using the capstone page. Apply the four steps (name the stock, trace the loop, find the delay, climb one rung) to a real problem you're facing. At which step do you get stuck, and what does that tell you about how you usually think about problems?
10. Structure and blame. The closing principle says people in badly designed structures are acting rationally, not lazily or weakly. How does this reframe the way you judge others, and yourself? Are there limits to this idea, or situations where personal responsibility still matters?

Goals
Integrity

Thinking well
Strategically
Operationally
Tactically

through every stage of life

Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1xKo4spo3s&t=2746s