Inversion is a powerful tool to improve your thinking because it helps you identify and remove obstacles to success. The root of inversion is “invert,” which means to upend or turn upside down. As a thinking tool it means approaching a situation from the opposite end of the natural starting point. Most of us tend to think one way about a problem: forward. Inversion allows us to flip the problem around and think backward. Sometimes it’s good to start at the beginning, but it can be more useful to start at the end.
Basically it is the idea that to solve a problem sometimes you can find the solution easier if you think about how not to solve the problem. In other words, if you start thinking about the things that won’t get you where you want to go it may give you more insight into ways that will. The key idea is that if you are stuck, you can flip the problem on its head and figure out what not to do.
Some examples: If you have a job and you just received an offer from a different company for a job there. Which do you choose? If you’re struggling to decide, make a list of things you don’t want in a job and try comparing them that way.
Deciding between two different vacation destinations. They are priced similarly and would offer similar experiences. Try looking at it backwards instead to see which destination has things you wouldn’t like and compare them that way.
COr maybe you’re trying your hand at investing in stocks and have narrowed it down to your top five. Which do you know the least about (ie, which aren’t in your Circle of Competence)?