💡 Definitions

• Local peak = Low hanging fruit with the maximum peak within a local window
• Global High = Not the low hanging fruit more often than not, often higher than Local Peak
• Global Peak = 404 Yes, I’m aware I have bad naming sense and the text sounds pretentious

For a significant portion of my life, I consistently chose not the optimal solution, but the most convenient one. This was because I believed the local peak was enough. Not ranking among the top didn’t seem like a serious issue. Being ‘optimal’ was merely a ‘bonus’ not a goal. However I later came to realize that this way of thinking was a significant mistake.

Optimal here refers to the Global High here. In our daily lives we constantly make decisions— how we spend our free time, what we eat, how we allocate resources, and so on. Each of these decisions involves trade-offs, but the fundamental distinction lies in what we are trying to optimize. Local peaks or the Global High. Even something as trivial as choosing what to eat is not without consequence. This is because our underlying mindset does shape our lives far more than meets the eye. It extends to influencing decisions regarding our career and life choices, down to our clothing choices.

The Butterfly Effect

Fancy jargon

Choosing the tastiest option versus the healthiest one may seem like a negligible difference when viewed in isolation. However, when repeated over time, this difference can grow significantly.

The accumulation of small choices produces outcomes far greater than expected. This is what is commonly referred to as the butterfly effect.

This principle also applies to careers. By consistently making decisions based not on short-term ease but on long-term value, it becomes possible to approach levels that would otherwise have been unattainable.

Automating Decision-Making

That said it is not easy to conciously make the ‘better’ choice at all times. Placing excessive cognitive load on everyday decision making can lead to fatigue, or worse, avoidance. An optimal strategy is to predefine guiding principles and act in accordance with them mechanically.

“The great difference between man and beast, however, is this: the latter adapts itself only in responding to the senses, and only to something that is present and at hand, scarcely aware of the past or future.  Man, however, is a sharer in reason; this enables him to perceive consequences, to comprehend the causes of things, their precursors and their antecedents, so to speak; to compare similarities and to link and combine future with present events; and by seeing with ease the whole course of life to prepare whatever is necessary for living it.” — Cicero, On Duties I. 11. eds. and trans. M.T. Griffin and E.M. Atkins (Cambridge 1991), p. 6. Stolen from here

Conclusion

Ultimately, life is shaped by individual choices, and those choices are strongly influenced by one’s way of thinking.

Who you are today is the result of accumulated past decisions. Therefore, by changing your mindset, you can alter the trajectory of your future.

About motivation

Motivation plays a big role in our lives. The fancy words above serve as good internal motivation for me and might be equivalent to gibberish from your perspective. That’s why, you have to find what fits you best. While that does sound difficult to do, it’s just a game of trial and error. I’m sure you’ll find your own internal motivation if you don’t already have one, so don’t fret and keep pushing!

“Every small step counts.” — Confucious

💡 Ps

I’d like to emphasize that the terms ‘better’ and ‘optimal’ are inherently subjective.