Nonlinear Life
“Step A then Step B
then Step C…”- - the linear plan
As humans we like to plan our lives. We even like to plan the lives of our
children. If little Johnny goes to this school,
followed by this high school, followed by this college, and then gets a job
with a great company he will be set for life.
This is an example of linear thinking.
Unfortunately, life is rarely linear. It often forces us to do multiple things at
the same time and it feels like our lives are chaotic. This is an example of nonlinear life. In this type of a life, step A does not lead
into step B, step B might have to be done in parallel with C, next going for E
before backing up to do step D. Most of
us fit this type of a life.
So is it wrong to think linearly? Nope.
Even in the most chaotic nonlinear life there are linear
subsystems. As a matter of fact, while
doing my masters level work, I learned that often science tries to treat
nonlinear problems by linearizing them.
In other words, for a certain range the system is linear. Once that assumption is made and verified then
it is easy to use many linear techniques to solve the problem. (The way to visualize this is to think of a
curve which on a certain range looks like a line.)
Why is this important?
Well, often we feel overwhelmed and in the midst of chaos. Stopping for a moment to ask if some
linearity can be found in the chaos might make it more obvious on how to find
the right solution. Maybe doing things
in parallel, multitasking, seems like a great idea but determining if those two
steps could be done sequentially might eliminate the stress while not extending
the timeframe by too much.
Today’s question is:
“Do you look for
opportunities to linearize your nonlinear life?”
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