Friction
Notes
Claim
Friction is usually something we want to avoid in life.
Explanation
Many of our day to day actions are determined not by our willpower but rather the level of friction of each action, meaning that we tend to stick to the We tend to accept defaults and rarely override them and choose the path of less resistance, or more accurately, the easy path is the default path.
Why it matters
Examples
Supporters
Friction is often unconscious, although it is a main reason we choose or avoid certain actions. Therefore, it is suggested that the most efficient improvement in life satisfaction could come from reduction in friction, brining more Distilling to essentials creates clarity and actionability in our lives.
To reduce friction, we can:
- Make it short - either by making something highly available, or limiting the scope of what we are trying to do
- Make it fun - doing a task will be much more tempting (and therefore with less friction) if it will be fun
- Do it consistently - Our mind resists less when we do things we have done in the past, because after a few times it becomes a habit, so Consistency compounds results through reliable repeated action is more important than Perfectionism paralyzes action through unattainable standards
- Change the settings - we are highly influenced by our environment. changing our environment to match our desired habits, making them the new default, is the most effective thing we can do. Like having a book on our desk would make reading easier.
Opposers
This idea goes against the idea that a Challenge is something that is beneficial to us. That only through facing difficulties we can grow Adversarial Growth. Similarly, it could be said that when something is too easy it becomes boring, creating a feeling of emptiness, of meaninglessness. Also, sometimes we want friction, especially when we want to make bad choices harder to make, or to add Stability is undervalued compared to growth to a process, like how security checks at the airport are a major friction, yet we want to preserve these because otherwise the risk is just too great.
Open questions
Visual
Overview
🔼Topic:: Habit Mechanics ◀Origin:: 🔗Link::