How To Become A Master Strategist
In this article, I’m going to discuss how you can become a better strategist in life.
And the answer is surprisingly simple.
It’s just a matter of how you look at the world.
This is exactly what I do when I write my Medium articles.
I never do anything. That’s some kind of strategic thinking behind it, right?
So my idea in my articles is to not just give you, the reader, ideas about life.
I want to change how you look at the world.
I want to change how you look at life.
And strategy is one of the ways alters how you look at the world.
Becoming strategic creates a paradigm shift.
How?
Because most people live their lives unstrategically.
Instead of planning and adapting, they’re emotionally reacting.
But once you turn strategising into a habit, this lack of emotional control disappears.
You suddenly become ready for everything that the world can throw at you and nothing can move you off centre.
This is completely different to the life of an average person.
Most people are in a constantly reactive state.
Somebody said something that made you livid.
Someone else did something which made you excited.
You’re scrolling down the YouTube homefeed and see something that catches your attention.
Next thing you know you’re watching a 28 minute video of cats cuddling dogs.
You’re in a constant state of reactivity.
You think you’re in control because sometimes you do something that makes you feel powerful.
Watching an informative YouTube video may feel like a win.
When in reality it all stems from reaction.
Most people are in a reaction mode throughout the course of their entire lives.
There’s no proactivity of planning.
When you switch to a strategic way of thinking, everything begins to change.
Because instead of reacting, you start to understand the motives behind other people’s actions.
If someone says something to make you upset, you know they’re trying to push your buttons.
This awareness makes it impossible for the other person to affect you.
You know the game they’re playing and have the tools to dismantle their psychological assault.
By combating your instinctive emotions with brutal rationality, you’re able to counter your reactive tendencies.
Instead of being affected by everything around you, you can instead be in full control.
While the world is playing checkers, you’re playing chess.
And you’re already 5 moves aheads.
In short, it’s important to have a level of detachment in your day to day life.
And you can practice this in small ways.
For example, let’s say you’re in a relationship.
If you’ve ever been in one, you’ll know that there are little things which can annoy you about the other person.
Whether it’s their loud snoring, constant moaning or incessant yawning, there’s always something that can get under our skin.
You’re not a bad person for feeling this way.
You can’t help it.
But what you can do is practice witholding your natural emotions.
Instead of getting pissed off, have fun with it.
Detach yourself from the situation and ask why you’re getting upset.
Something so silly doesn’t need any extra emotion from you.
Ask yourself:
Why am I getting emotional?
Once you actually ask the question, you’ll realise it’s not worth it.
It also helps you see life from the other person’s perspective.
You can begin to understand why people say the things they say and do the things they do.
The moment you realise how many options you have, the less reactive you’ll be.
Instead of experiencing a knee-jerk response, you’re weighing up the options and selecting the best outcome.
This is strategising in a nutshell.
So next time you feel like emotionally reacting, don’t.
Stop.
Think.
And move forward with a rational decision.
A solid strategy will always defeat an emotional outburst.
I hope you found this useful.
Thanks for reading,
Godfrey
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