25 More Models to Optimize your Decisions

Mental models are frameworks or ideas that enhance decision-making, problem-solving, and overall thinking.

Thought leaders Mentioned:

Chris Williamson, George Mack, Shane Parish, Alex Hormozi, Dr. Richard Bandler, Naval Ravikant, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Rob Henderson, and more.

1. The Notion of Luxury Beliefs
   • These are beliefs held by those in a position of luxury, which do not affect them negatively but can impact less privileged individuals.
2. Present Bias or Hyperbolic Discounting
   • The tendency to overvalue immediate rewards and undervalue future benefits.
3. Outcome-Based Communication
   • Focus on the desired outcome of communication, ensuring it drives the recipient to take the desired action and feel the intended emotions.
4. Second Order Thinking
   • Consider the consequences of decisions and the consequences of those consequences, thinking multiple steps ahead.
5. The Law of Identity
   • Changing self-belief can alter actions, and changing actions can shift self-belief.
6. Opinion Noise
   • Recognize that the loudness or prevalence of opinions does not equate to their accuracy or truth.
7. Probabilistic Thinking
   • Make decisions based on the probability of different outcomes, rather than certainties.
8. Investment Certainty
   • Evaluate the certainty of a decision by considering how much you would bet on it.
9. Environmental Hacking
   • Alter your environment to make desired behaviors easier to adopt and maintain.
10. The Principle of False Authority
    • Question the expertise of individuals, especially when they speak outside their field of expertise.
11. Business Indigestion vs. Starvation
    • Businesses often fail due to taking on too much (indigestion) rather than a lack of resources (starvation).
12. Sunk Cost Fallacy
    • Avoid continuing a failing project just because of the invested time and resources.
13. Availability Heuristic
    • Judgments are often influenced by what is most easily recalled, not necessarily what is most accurate.
14. Circle of Competence
    • Stay within areas of deep expertise to ensure credibility and competence.
15. The Law of Diminishing Returns
    • Additional investments yield progressively smaller returns after a certain point.
16. Embracing the Law of Subtraction
    • Sometimes removing elements from your life can lead to greater satisfaction and efficiency.
17. The Paradox of Certainty
    • Those who are most certain are often the least accurate; real experts recognize nuance and uncertainty.
18. The Law of Learned Experience
    • Valuable experience comes from diverse and challenging situations, not repetitive actions.
19. The Map is Not the Territory
    • Our perceptions (maps) of reality (territory) are subjective and can be altered for better outcomes.
20. The Law of Contextual Dependence
    • The effectiveness of actions and decisions often depends on the specific context.
21. Identifying Ideological Blind Spots
    • Recognize that believing oneself to be non-ideological can itself be an ideological blind spot.
22. Real vs. Imaginary Problems
    • Distinguish between real problems that require action and imaginary ones that stem from unfounded fears.
23. Decision Hygiene and Resulting
    • Focus on the decision-making process rather than just the outcomes; avoid equating good results with good decisions.
24. Hanlon’s Razor: Stupidity Over Malice
    • Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
25. Life as an attention war
    • There are various forces vying for our focus. It’s essential to guard our attention and direct it towards beneficial activities and information.