Part 2 -The First Secret Simplicity: Extrinsic Framing - Structure | System | Outcome
The Before Rules: A Simple Guide For Life's Complexities
Part 2 -The First Secret Simplicity: Extrinsic Framing - Structure | System | Outcome
The Before Rules Series: This is the second essay in a five-part Before Rule series. Follow or subscribe to access the other parts of The Before Rules:
Part 1: Master Your Why, Structure Your How, Create Your System, And Achieve Your Outcome - With Just Three Words.
Part 2: The First Secret Simplicity: Extrinsic Framing - Structure | System | Outcome.
Part 3: The Second Secret Simplicity: Intrinsic Framing - Identity | Agency.
Part 4: Creating Consistent Commitments: A Master System For Implementing 3 Commitments, 3 Rules, 3 Minutes.
Part 5: How The Before Rules Benefit You: The Evidence And Science Behind The Before Rules.
The Secret Simplicity Hidden In The Before Rules
Examples Of Things Hidden In Plain Sight: There are many things around us that we need or 'just' occur, and we rarely recognize or appreciate them. Plain sight examples include oxygen, gravity, time, electricity, language, seatbelts, and even our finite mortality. The Most Powerful Element Of The Before Rules Also Hides In Plain Sight: The thought model of Structure | System | Outcome makes the Before Rules work. The Secret Simplicity? It's Structure | System | Outcome: Life’s like a building. It has its bones – that's the structure. Inside, the electrical and plumbing function as the veins and arteries – the systems, carrying what's needed. What it does, why it stands – that's the outcome. Simple, yet it's all connected. First Contact - My Introduction To Structure | System | Outcome: An administrative residency was required between my first and second years in graduate school. I briefly interacted with a physician in the hospital's cafeteria, and she introduced me to what was alien to me at the time but now has become a lifelong mantra: Structure | System | Outcome.
It Works For Medicine And Most Everything Else: The doctor shared how medicine works in three words: structure, system, and outcome. She said that this is how you understand and resolve problems. You have a structure, apply a system, and get an outcome. Decide On Your Destination, Then Focus Your Systems On What Gets You There: If actions don't achieve your desired outcome, adjust your structure and/or system. The changes you make for your structure and/or system should be improvements, not capitulations.
The Structure | System | Outcome Thought Model And Examples
Universal Thought Model: This Structure | System | Outcome model is foundational in almost every action, plan, or decision I make. Structure | System | Outcome Is Found Everywhere, Including... Throughout this article - and even in the subtitle. Quick Definition - Why It Is Structure | System | Outcome And Not Structure | Process |Outcome: Note that a system and a process differ. A system consists of things that interact and a plan for doing so. A process is the action of following through. Structure | System | Outcome And M&M's: First, recognize that the environment is a significant structural component. Here is an example. Assume you enjoy M&Ms and always have this candy in a bowl on your work desk. Your desired outcome is to consume fewer M&Ms. As you think about that you reach into the bowl. Disrupt The Structure: Let's change the environment, i.e., the structure, and remove the M&Ms (more on how to do this effectively in additional essays). You change the structure, the system changes, and the outcome changes as well. Instead Of M&Ms Controlling You, You Now Control The M&Ms: If the bowl isn't there to easily tempt you, you don't eat the M&Ms. Progress Before Perfection: One step further is to replace the M&Ms with a healthier alternative such as mixed nuts, apples, or dried fruit. Your first improvement doesn't have to be perfect, just better. Knowing How To Fish And Knowing Where To Fish: The Before Rules are like fishing. You need the right spot, the right time, the right gear. That's your structure. How you fish, how you cast, the waiting, that's the system. And, if you are fishing for dinner, you know why to fish. The catch is what you're after. Many Forms - Same Structure | System | Outcome Model: Each Before Rule encompasses a structure, a system with the outcome resulting in your desired result. Tools: It’s like having a farm. You have your land, your equipment, your effort. You use your tools to plant, water, and harvest. That’s what the Before Rules do. They’re straightforward and in order. Use what you need, when you need to, and leave what you don’t for later. Do you see the underlying model of structure and system? Plant Before Harvest. Lego Blocks: Think of a child's Legos—each piece is simple. Put them together; they make something more, something bigger, something you desire. That's how it works – simple parts making a whole. Even this child's toy can illustrate the way a system comes together to form a structure. Simple Before Complex. A Lever and Fulcrum: Remember how a lever works? Give me a lever and a place to stand (that’s structure), and I’ll move the world. When you learn to leverage your efforts, even small actions and systems can yield significant outcomes. Commitment Before Outcome. Fractals: Life’s complex like a snowflake, a tree branch. It's simple, but there is a system. When you closely examine the structure of a fractal, you realize that beneath what may initially appear to be chaos is an understandable pattern - a system. Chaos Before Order.
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." Oscar Wilde
Immune Response: It’s like receiving a small dose of a harmful bacteria or virus. The inoculation initiates, warns, and provides immunity for your challenge. This injection of what you don’t want is what makes you stronger. Face a small challenge, determine which of the Before Rules to implement, and you’re ready for future obstacles. Exposure Before Immunity. Eliminating Repeated Chaos: Make one decision (a system), like eating healthy, and eliminate a hundred choices. It’s like deciding to fish only in the best spots or not eating sweets; the perils of choice are removed because you’ve already decided upon what you’re doing or not doing (that’s structure). Decision Before Choice. Road Signs to the Future: The future's unknown, but signs can help guide us. The Before Rules are those signs: warning, guiding, and preparing for what's ahead. Sometimes, signs indicate significant warnings like 'Bridge Out' or 'Merging Traffic.' Other times, the signs enrich us indicating a 'Scenic Lookout' ahead. Road signs nudge, direct, and guide us to our outcome. All the information is there if we pay attention. Forewarned Before Forearmed. The Past – Rumble Strips: The past is a lesson. Like rumble strips on the road, it immediately shakes you back to attention if you stray off-course. Rumble Strips act as a feedback system. You can instantly correct your course when you pay attention to the feedback. Progress Before Perfection. A Holographic System: Think of a hologram. A beam of light splits strikes two objects and then comes back together to make a whole, 3-dimensional image. Your thoughts are your beam of light, and the first and third words in the Before Rules formula are the objects your thoughts illuminate. Then, the light reconsolidates as something new, something better: your desired outcome. A hologram keeps us apprised of the outcome. End Before Begin. Folding Space To Save Time: Assume you have a sheet of paper, and at the top left corner, you write the word 'here.' In the bottom right corner, you write the word 'there.' Your desired outcome is to get from 'here' to 'there,' often as fast as you can. You place your pen on top of the word 'here' and then draw a straight line to the word there; that's a path. The Before Rules can act the same way as theoretical travels in space. Take the piece of paper (space), and simply fold it diagonally, so that now the word 'here' touches the word 'there.' You have eliminated all of the distance that previously separated these two words. Here Before There.
More On The Before Rules
Not Only Tell, But Show, Too: I have also created an evidence-based and science-based, simple model for designing, implementing, and tracking your Before Rules. It is called… 3 Commitments, 3 Rules, 3 Minutes: In Part 4 of this series, you will earn how to create, control, and implement the Before Rules using the 3 Commitments, 3 Rules, 3 Minutes model. Your Thoughts May Vary: Thought Improvement welcomes your constructive appreciation comments and invites you to share your perspectives, ideas, and suggestions. Together, we can all improve our thoughts. Disclaimers, Disclosures, And Declarations: Of course, we have these conditions <>. This concludes the sedond essay in the Before Rule series. Follow or subscribe to access the other parts of The Before Rules:
Part 1: Master Your Why, Structure Your How, Create Your System, And Achieve Your Outcome - With Just Three Words.
Part 2: The First Secret Simplicity: Extrinsic Framing - Structure | System | Outcome.
Part 3: The Second Secret Simplicity: Intrinsic Framing - Identity | Agency.
Part 4: Creating Consistent Commitments: A Master System For Implementing 3 Commitments, 3 Rules, 3 Minutes.
Part 5: How The Before Rules Benefit You: The Evidence And Science Behind The Before Rules.