Installment 8: Infinite Simplicity

Bottomless wonders spring from simple rules, which are repeated without end. - Benoit Mandelbrot

Take a look at this digital artwork and you'll get a sense of what I'm utilizing as the framework for this installment. This is a great visual to describe a complex structure comprised of an infinitely recursive sequence of patterns. This artwork could go on and on, without completion. Imagine zooming back into the eye of the amphibious humanoid, not only to go back through this sequence but to be taken down a separate group of art entirely by selecting another section of the eye.

This is how our decision patterns operate. We'll either choose to trek down familiar paths, or we'll build off one that already exists. The paths have already been categorized and preprogrammed, defining the routes we traverse in our daily lives just like an amusement park map. You know where to go when you're expressing a certain emotion. You know where to go when you have a set of options. You know what to do when faced with a certain situation or set of circumstances. You know where to go to discuss your opinions on a particular subject matter. You're programmed. Believe me, I'm aware that I've been programmed as well. We all are. I'm not calling you out for anything that isn't simply a component and prerequisite of simply being human.

If you want more in your life, or if you want out of the amusement park map you've already designed for yourself, there is a way. To become the architect of your masterpiece, your magnum opus, you must move forward with the simplest decisions possible, not the most complicated and challenging ones.

This is Installment 8: Infinite Simplicity

Leadership is challenging, and you'll require tools to intentionally challenge your leader within. You are the designer of you. With that said, let's continue our journey today.

I recently heard an expert talking about how the Google search algorithm works. He said everyone's personal search results are a compilation of predictors of their search activity [no surprises there] as well as the search history of one's innermost social circle [say what?]. Is that why conversations with friends seem so familiar? Is Google also serving up the content I am seeking to those in my Google calendar for future appointments or meetings, and vice versa? Makes you wonder, huh? Are my thoughts being hand-delivered to me by an algorithm, and if so how can I better manage where my attention goes?

No matter how much we'll deny it, we're already in this complex infrastructure. It goes beyond our mind, body, and soul. It's why large, complex systems are challenging to correct, affect, and redirect. They're massive and forcing those systems through a shift better come with a strong level of open-mindedness, patience, and intention. And while some have figured out how to routinely eject from the program and do a hard reboot, many of us have not challenged ourselves enough to see the other side. Because once one's seen the other side, they won't be able to squelch that wisdom and revert back to the way it was. The new path and trajectory is clearly a separate path that begins with this new revelation, leaving no room to meander back toward the tracks laid down by previous beliefs, misinformation, and misinterpretation.

By the way, I just spent 10 minutes reading some of the predicted search results for a few random topics I typed into Google and if I'm being served the questions on the minds of the folks in my innermost circle, then I'm genuinely frightened for myself and also my friends, family, and colleagues. Ok, moving on...

When we choose to focus on the simplicity of what it takes to address the randomness and disorder of our lives, we all have different feelings about it. On one end of the spectrum, folks are dismissing the significance of a simple first step. Why would that one step, that one decision, even matter? What would be the relevance and usefulness of such a small step? When we choose to focus on the simplicity of what it takes to move out of randomness and disorder, it seems insignificant. Since we're searching for so much more, we might box ourselves into thinking the solution needs to be a complex one. We'll rationalize that it's not complicated enough. It's not meaningful enough. We'll talk ourselves out of taking that small step. So, what will it take?

Please don't hate me for this simplicity. I think I've earned enough credibility with you by now for you to realize how serious I am about the importance of this aspect of growth.

Just pick the next 3 things that need to take place. Something you could do across the next 3 days, without devoting maybe more than 3 hours to it. I call it 333, and it's changing the lives of the leaders and teams I consult. I'll give you 3 fundamental rules to this game that are the types of firestarter triggers one would need if they feel stuck, feel like they're avoiding something, or feel as if they're not equipped to tackle something.

1. Simplify the hell out of the complexity of whatever system you're working with and simply focus on the next 3 things that need to happen. If I wanted to become the most recognized chef on Youtube, I would need to spend thousands of hours devoted to this endeavor. I would need to drill down to the most basic things I would need to do, or learn to do, in order to accomplish this task. In Japan, cooks desiring to become sushi chefs will train under a sushi master. So much of that time is spent doing basic things in order to teach the protégé about awareness, consistency, and nuance. How many times could one individual make tamagoyaki in order to get it right? A sushi master will test your will on this one task before they'll give you more responsibility.
2. Identify and acknowledge your biases and limiting beliefs that will prevent you from taking these first 3 steps. As in the previous example about the crazy idea of becoming the most recognized chef on Youtube. If I thought Youtube was run by an evil empire, then I'd give myself a reason to not take the first step. I'd place artificial roadblocks in my way. Are you feeling me? This is less of rule #2 and more of a reminder about some of our previous conversations. We are constantly going to want to talk ourselves out of taking the first step toward a new path. Recognize that, take a deep breath, and really listen to yourself.
3. Don't get caught up in the fact that you took one step and try to stop and pat yourself on the back just yet. Too soon! Go back to step #1 immediately and identify the next 3 things that need to happen.

It's only as real as you make it. Things are as you've made them out to be. Beliefs, biases, and judgments, born from our experiences and deeply embedded into our consciousness, are the Brita filters of our current reality. Do you remember when I asked you in other installments to suspend your belief? There were never 3 things that needed to be completed. It's literally an infinite loop of 1 step at a time. New complex systems can emerge from the simplest of actions and decisions. So let's get busy creating the systems we want, vs. the systems that were built without our input. And as leaders, please understand the cascading factor of your actions, inactions, decisions, and overall mindset. These are informing the systems built around you.

Onward & Upward