Creating Your Own Mental Models
Creating Your Own Mental Models
A Guide to Personal Framework Development
In our post An Introduction to Mental Models, we discussed how mental models can help us improve our decision making and help us make sense of the world. today, we are going to create our own mental model framework.
Creating your own mental model allows you to apply your domain expertise to your own customized decision-making framework. Combining domains of knowledge that you are comfortable with can allow you to create a decision-making system that is uniquely yours. This personalized approach can lead to more insightful analysis and better-informed decision making.
Steps to Develop Your Own Mental Model
1. In which domains are you a subject matter expert?
Identify 2-3 domains where you feel most confident in your expertise. These will form the foundation of your personal mental model.
Consider the areas where you have deep knowledge and experience. These could be:
Your professional field (e.g., software engineering, finance, marketing)
A hobby or personal interest you've extensively pursued (e.g., chess, photography, history)
Life experiences that have given you unique insights (e.g., living in multiple cultures, overcoming specific challenges)
2. Which mental models can complement your domain knowledge?
While your expertise forms the core, incorporating established mental models can enhance your framework. Here are some fundamental models that can benefit anyone's toolkit:
First Principles Thinking: Breaking down complex problems into their most basic, foundational elements and then reasoning up from there. First principles thinking helps in developing novel solutions and avoiding assumptions.
Second-Order Thinking: Considering the long-term consequences of decisions, not just immediate outcomes. This model helps in anticipating unintended consequences and making more robust decisions.
Inversion: Approaching problems backward by focusing on what you want to avoid rather than what you want to achieve.
Probabilistic Thinking: Understanding that most outcomes are uncertain and thinking in terms of probabilities rather than absolutes. Crucial for decision-making under uncertainty.
Systems Thinking: Viewing problems as parts of an overall system rather than in isolation. This approach helps in understanding complex interactions and finding holistic solutions.
3. Create your own mental model framework
To combine your domain expertise with these general mental models:
Apply first principles thinking to break down the problem into its core components.
Use your domain knowledge to understand these components deeply.
Apply second-order thinking to consider long-term and indirect effects.
Use inversion to identify potential pitfalls or undesired outcomes.
Apply probabilistic thinking to assess the likelihood of different outcomes.
Use systems thinking to understand how this problem or decision fits into the larger context.
Make your decision
This process allows you to leverage both your specialized knowledge and the best mental models to make the best decisions possible.
4. Test and Refine
Track your decisions in a decision journal. Are you making better decisions by applying your mental model framework? How can you improve your decision making? Iterate based on results and feedback.
Conclusion
Creating your own mental models is an ongoing process of observation, analysis, and refinement. It's a powerful way to develop your critical thinking skills and gain unique insights into the world around you. By combining your specialized knowledge with established cognitive tools, you create a decision-making framework that is both powerful and uniquely suited to your strengths.
While there are hundreds of mental models you can apply, you need to start small. Ideally, with domains of knowledge that you are familiar with, and then adding a handful of the best mental models. From this starting point you then add complementary mental models to your framework. The goal is to make them your own, so that you can apply them to make the best decisions possible.
This personalized approach to mental models can lead to breakthrough insights in your field, help you communicate complex ideas more effectively, and give you a competitive edge in problem-solving. Remember, the goal isn't to create a perfect, unchanging model, but rather to develop a flexible, evolving toolkit that grows with your experience and knowledge.
As you continue to refine your mental model framework, you'll likely find that it not only improves your decision-making but also enhances your ability to learn and adapt in a rapidly changing world. Embrace the process, stay curious, and don't be afraid to challenge and revise your models as you encounter new information and situations.