“I must create a system or be enslaved by another mans; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create.” – William Blake
A system, or even “model” can do two helpful things:
- It gives us an approach. It can be flexible, but still this gives us a way of navigating, or a “view” on how we can come into familiar or unfamiliar situations.
- It saves energy. Energetic capital is originally needed to create the system, but once a healthy structure is in place, it’s more resilient and relatively stable. This lets us focus energy on whatever is going on externally.
Whether we know it or not, we’re using systems almost constantly.
Sometimes they’re habitual, sometimes conscious processes… Thought structures, ways of eating or moving, ways of working.
And while we might want to object and say – “but wait, I’m different, I’m flexible!” remember that advanced systems incorporate learning too.
A system doesn’t need to be fixed.
So the question is, do you want to define your own system?
Or, do you want to follow someone else’s?
While both can have upside, there are definitely a lot of systems that aren’t worth following.
Knowing when to choose one vs. the other is helpful.
