How to Solve Any Problem, Easily
Next Big Idea Club
Where thought leaders converge, where ideas transform into action, and where books become a gateway to a brighter future
The Next Big Idea Daily newsletter (SUBSCRIBE) is written by me, Michael Kovnat, and gathers insights from today’s leading non-fiction authors. It’s a companion to our Next Big Idea Daily podcast.
More money, more problems, right? Actually, maybe Biggie should have said: more living, more problems. Because a by-product of being alive is that you’re inevitably going to have to deal with money issues, relationship issues, health issues, job issues. Stick around long enough, and problems will find you.
And the way to solve them, so we’ve been taught, is to put your nose to the grindstone, work hard, figure it out, push through. But what if your biggest problems could suddenly get a whole lot easier, not by wrestling them to the ground, but just by looking at them differently? What if, by shifting your perspective slightly and asking yourself “what if this could be easy?”, your problems practically seem to solve themselves? That's "effortless inversion."
Hear Greg McKeown explain how “effortless inversion” can make your big problems solvable.
I got this insight from this week’s guest on the Next Big Idea Daily podcast: Greg McKeown -- strategist, podcaster, and author of the bestsellers Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most and Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Greg has an unusual, counterintuitive approach to work. He thinks it should be easy.
The idea is more radical than it sounds. The belief that big results come from big efforts is deeply ingrained in most of us. I, personally, have a hard time shaking it. Making things easy sounds like cheating. It sounds lazy.
It took me a little time to come around to Greg’s way of thinking. In these conversations, you’ll hear moments where I misunderstand his ideas. You’ll hear me fumble around as I try to grasp what effortlessness is all about. But stick with it. Once you really internalize the fact that easy does not equal lazy, you might feel a weight lift from your shoulders. Your life could suddenly get a lot more effortless.
Have you tried something like “effortless inversion” in your own life? Let me know in the comments.
领英推荐
Next week on The Next Big Idea Daily
Next week, I'll be talking with U.C. Irvine professor Gloria Mark about how to increase attention span and improve our ability to focus.
Helpful Links:
Host, Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel | Senior Editor at Large @ LinkedIn
2 年Looking forward to a how-to on increasing my attention span!