“Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.”—Edwin Way Teale
Sometimes, the answer to common problems is to begin a different routine, start a new process, or purchase something to make life easier. While this might be true in some situations, I’ve found even more success with the exact opposite approaches.
Mathematician Carl Jacobi made a huge contribution toward solving hard problems when he suggested the idea of “invert, always invert.”
When we have a problem, we typically approach it in a forward-thinking way. “How do I have a better marriage?” But when we focus only on moving forward, to the neglect of the root issues, we will likely not get the lasting results we want. If we invert the question, however, we may find a more direct and durable route to success….