Know where you'll die
The only thing I want to know is where I'm going to die so I never go there. - Charlie Munger
This particular Charlie Munger line often floats about in my head. It’s also obviously not meant to be read literally, because Charlie Munger has since passed on.
But at least his ideas remain with us.
Anyway, this quote speaks to usefulness of inversion — instead of only thinking about how to achieve your desired outcome, think also about how you would definitely not achieve it. Thinking backwards then becomes a way to avoid stupidity.
Here are some examples of how inversion could work:
- To lead a happy life = think about all the ways that will lead to misery
- To run a marathon successfully = think about all the obstacles that stand in your way
- To create change in your team = think about all things that discourage change
The point of identifying the inverse is to then allow you to address these things, so that you “never go there”!