2 Strategies to Deal Successfully with the Complexity of Our Daily Lives
You can't have your cake and eat it too
How can we cope with the complexity of our lives without losing hope for the future?
Everything is getting more complex and we are running around trying to learn something new every day to boil down complexity to a simple algorithm.
But does it work? Aren’t we getting tired of lashing out at the tsunami of complicated systems challenging us everyday?
What happened to the fun and free-time that technology was supposed to help us enjoy?
I think this is one of the top burning questions of the twenty-first century crying for an answer.
1) Break It Down to a Subset and Master That Instead
One strategy that I apply on a daily basis to cope with complexity is to find a subset, a piece of the overall complexity that I can master well. Then I make my peace with my limited efficacy. As simple as that.
I tell myself not to get upset because I cannot understand everything in the overall picture and I live with that self-made contract as well as the uncertainty.
That way complexity still exists but it does not bother me as much because I feel I’ve chosen my own limited engagement on my own terms, in command of my free will.
Although my knowledge is still not perfect, I feel that my control over my life is nevertheless at a level that satisfies me and helps contain my techno- and existential anxieties.
Examples
For example, just because I’m not in full command of the complex steps involved in passing a bill in Congress, it does not mean that I cannot pick up the phone and register my opinions with my representative. I know how to do that much.
Or I still do not know how to configure all the settings on one of those high-end all-digital treadmill machines but I know how to start it manually, bring it up to a certain speed, and then stop it when I want to. I stop right there on the ladder of knowledge-acquisition without feeling bad about not mastering every dial or button on the machine.
Life is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It never was and never will be.
I will participate in the world and become involved in it to the extent that I can, through mastering a consciously chosen subset of the overall complexity.
I will not accuse myself of not being “omniscient” about all these complex systems with no end. To the extent I can do that, the world ceases to be a complex enigma.
2) Don't Over-Hedge Your Bets
Another strategy I use to cope with daily complexity in this high-tech age is not to over-hedge my bets, whether (let’s say) I’m designing a documentation plan, buying a new computer, or planning for retirement.
Don‘t Hoard Backup Plans
I think a considerable portion of the complexity in our lives arises from the fact that not only we have a Plan A and a Plan B in case the first one fails, but we continue accumulating all kinds of backup plans, like an insurance junkie.
It is never enough, is it?
Example
We not only try to buy stocks at the lowest possible price with minimal transaction fees but also want to go both long and short on the options of the same stock in order to hedge against possible losses in both directions, just in case, and regardless of the option prices…
We want our lives tight as a drum, with multiple layers of “protection” and no strikeouts. That’s fine.
You Can‘t Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
But we also want things to be as “simple,” “natural,” and “uncomplicated” as possible. That’s where we slip into a world of fantasy and make-believe.
We can’t have it both ways.
More Examples
Here is a high-tech over-hedging example…
One important reason why Windows is such a complex program is its relentless emphasis on backward compatibility. And that is really nothing more than a built-in “hedging” mechanism to make sure that you will be able to read on your XP or Vista OS even the documents written on a Windows 10 machine. That is a lofty and ambitious goal but comes with a hefty price tag in terms of complexity.
The more we try to hang on to everything and cover for every possible outcome or eventuality, the more complex our machines and lives become, by definition.
If you try to leave for a vacation by carrying every kind of medicine for every medical emergency that may visit you, then you would end up packing up a whole suitcase just for your pills and creams and god knows what else.
A reasonable amount of “loss and risk”
Accepting a reasonable amount of “loss and risk” always reduces the complexity of my life considerably.
