I've come across Sahil Bloom's post on "The Most Powerful Ideas" a few days ago when a friend of mine shared it with me on Twitter.

Out of all the ideas and mental models that were mentioned, one of them struck out to me. It was the idea of inversion. At face value, the concept of inversion may seem counterintuitive and may even lead you to thinking that doing things inversely would not get you towards your intended goal.

So what about inversion makes it a viable mental model?

Planning Requires Inversion

To quote Sahil, "The best innovators think forward AND backward".

When you want to pursue something in our lives, you tend to plan ahead or create a roadmap to achieve that goal. In the process, you would think of what you need to do and what challenges we may face. Thinking about the challenges ahead is a form of backward thinking because it requires you to find solutions to address the root cause.

Apart from forward thinking, you need to inverse your thoughts a little to come up with creative ideas for a plan.

Our Daily Decisions Involve Inversion

You don't just apply inversion to tackle challenges though. You can use it to guide your decisions too; in fact, you may already be doing it on a daily basis.

When it is sunny but you think it may rain, so you bring an umbrella.

When you think your phone will go flat over the day, so you bring along a portable charger.

When you head out and are afraid you may forget your keys, so you leave a spare one under your doormat.

Many of us think inversely and yet, not realise it.

So, the next time you are find yourself planning something or making an important decision, remember about inversion.