My Reverse Thinking Guide (what, why + how)

How can I make this article horrible? What can I do to make sure I never finish my music, art and creative projects?

These (absurd) questions are all examples of reverse thinking — a powerful inversion mental model for innovative thinking and problem solving.

It’s a way to turn complex problems and vexing questions into simpler (sometimes obvious) solutions.

So this is my guide.

Let’s do this!

Table of Contents Show

What Is Reverse Thinking? (what + why)

Reverse thinking is an inversion mental model of thinking about problems backwards, rather than forward.

That is, inversion thinking looks for ways to make a problem worse rather than better. This is easier to do and often uncovers fresh insights, new ideas and obvious goals.

Problems feel easier to solve.

Charlie Munger is famous for using this mental model (among many others). According to him, inversion thinking is a great way to solve difficult problems, uncover rogue beliefs and find innovative solutions.

Let’s look at some examples.

Examples of Reverse Thinking

• How can I lessen my carbon footprint?

• Inversion model → How can I worsen my carbon footprint?

• How can I make more money?

• Inversion model → How can I waste money or avoid monetary opportunities?

• I want to grow a successful blog.

• Inversion model → How can I decrease my blog’s traffic?

• How can I become a successful artist?

  • Inversion model → In what ways can I avoid artistic growth?

• I want a simpler, more laid-back lifestyle.

• Inversion model → How can I make life more complicated and be more stressed?

Thinking In Reverse (the perks)

1. Identify problems quicker and more clearly

2. Approach stuff from multiple perspectives

3. Be more competitive in your niche

4. Solve complex problems easier

5. Create roadmaps and strategies to reach your goals

6. Sharpen your creative thinking skills

7. Connect more dots and find novel perspectives

8. Challenge assumptions or beliefs

9. Break through mental barriers or creative ruts

10. Stress less about issues when they pop up

How to Do Reverse Thinking (3 steps)

1. Identify

What do you want to think in reverse about?

Step one is to identify the problems you want to resolve in your life. In my experience, it’s helpful to tackle just one or two things at a time. Otherwise, I get overwhelmed or distracted.

When looking for solutions to complex problems, it’s easy to get discouraged or veer off course completely. Practicing focus helps.

So identify your core issue and write down why it’s important to you. What you hope to achieve by solving it?

When you’re ready, move on to step two.

2. Brainstorm

Reverse thinking works so well because thinking of ways things of way to make something worse or bad is often easier. There’s less stress, no perfectionism and zero pressure to succeed.

Because you know, sometimes trying to find a solution creates more anxiety than the problem itself.

So now that you have a specific thing you want to work on (from step one), it’s time to think of some novel solutions (in reverse).

Here are some queries to ponder:

• What assumptions do I have about solving my problem?

• Are they accurate? What new or opposite assumptions can I make?

• How can I achieve the opposite outcome from what I want?

• How would a beginner approach this problem?

• How can we make my problem harder or worse?

• What are the causes of my problem?

3. Create

After brainstorming solutions, I like to shortlist the best ones for testing.

So pick out the ideas that struck a chord or stood out in some way. This is your focus. It’s time to expand on that idea and turn it into an actual strategy.

I like to reverse engineer things into smaller, more manageable baby steps. Here’s how:

• Define your big goal

  • Break down your big goal into smaller micro goals

    • Break down each micro goal into smaller nano goals

Focus on the nano goals and steps each day.

Some ideas and plans will work out and some won’t. So don’t get discouraged if your initial solutions don’t pan out. That’s the process and the nature of testing things out. Eventually, you’ll find what works best.

So have fun with this. Because problems never go away, but they do tend to get better and easier as you grow.

---

Want More? Nice. Here’s More.