Think Differently By Changing the Questions You Ask

Note: This article is based on the work of the author Darius Foroux, in which he tells us about his experience of thinking differently from the norm.

This is the most common mental model when it comes to searching for something. We always look at the positives, but when you only look for the positives, you risk overlooking the negatives, which can be very costly.

By studying the mental models and thinking styles of American investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, I've learned that it's essential to change the questions. You have to force yourself to look at the negatives to avoid them.

Investor Charlie Manger drew his inspiration from the 19th-century mathematician Carl Jacobi, who famously said, “Invert, always invert.”; the idea is to look back at things first; The idea is to look at things backward first; Manger says:

“The mental habit of backward thinking dictates objectivity because one way you think about something backward is to try to refute your initial assumptions, but that's not what most people do with their initial assumptions; they try to confirm them, it's an automatic tendency in psychology that's often called the 'first conclusion bias'; it 's just a tendency; you can train yourself to move away from that tendency to a great degree by constantly refuting your assumptions”.

Manager devised a way of looking at life based on this theory: "All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there.”

As long as we are aware of the bad results, we can try to avoid them, but the problem is that most people are never aware of this, but they try hard to look only at the positive side, ignoring the negative side.

Applying backward Thinking to Important Questions

It takes time to train yourself to change the questions. After years of practicing this technique, my first idea was to look at the positives in something.

Here are some examples and how you can change the question:

• Question: How do you make more money from stocks?
• The reverse question: How to avoid losing money in the stock market?
• Question: How to become fitter?
• The reverse question: How to avoid injuries?
• Question: How to do more?
• The reverse question: Am I wasting my time right now?
• Question: How to develop and increase our business?
• The reverse question: How to avoid losing our business?

When you look at the benefits of certain things, do not forget to look at their possible negative aspects, and try not to be affected by the popular content that often talks about the benefits. By challenging yourself to think objectively about the potential negatives without allowing fear to control you, you see what others ignore, and you can plan and act accordingly.

Avoid Exaggerating The Search For Positive Or Negative Results

Some people naturally look at the positives, while others tend toward the negatives. You must know someone who is always pessimistic about the economy and the world, talking about a possible nuclear war, hyperinflation, global warming, etc. To be honest, we have many problems in the world, and it is not difficult for those problems to make us negative people, but you must always know a positive person; these people are angry if you do not smile and rejoice all the time.

We both know that over-optimism or pessimism is unrealistic, but you should embrace the “golden mean”; this concept is as old as philosophy. Since the beginning of modern civilization, intelligent people have been calling for balance. We simply get better results if we have a balanced view of life, such as monitoring our health even when we live a busy lifestyle.

So look at yourself: if you're always looking for positives, try to change the questions you ask, and if you're always looking for negatives, look at the benefits and positive aspects of things.

In conclusion

The Stoic Greek philosopher Epictetus says in his Discourses, to which I always return when I reconsider my thoughts and opinions: “Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others”.

We are social beings, and we will always be informed of the beliefs of others. When you are not sure of something, it is easy to be influenced by others, but you can think alone and in your way, always be vigilant, and when you adopt the habit of changing questions, you can think “out of the box” and always stay ahead of the curve.