Becoming a Super Adapter
We are natively designed to deal with a more stable environment. We are in accelerating change and adapting to change becomes an advantage.
Growing from surprises and stressors
Can you condition yourself or adapt or program yourself as things get harder, more complex?
Antifragile
We think of things as fragile and most think the opposite of ANTIFRAGILE is ROBUST and it stays the same.
Is the opposite of Antifragile, Robust?
No, it’s not Robust, it becomes stronger from a surprise or stressor. i.e. Drop a box and it says “please drop.”
This is a blindspot
Antifragile is an the interesting part of life and doesn’t have many words across cultures.
Mythology Diagram
Sword of Damacles – Fragile
Phoenix – Robust
Antifragile – The Hydra – cut off a head and two grow back.
Holistic application
There are areas in our life where we apply it really well and blind spots in other areas.
Finding the right dose.
With a stressor, up to a point you get more benefit, but after you get diminishing. Hormetic zone. Within the hormetic zone, there is generally a favorable biological response to low exposures to toxins and other stressors.
5% Rule Mindset
The 5% Rule Mindset - underlying this is the belief that you are a Superadapter. You are yourself Antifragile.
Appreciate stressors and train you body to look forward to stressors.
Muscle growth starts, when you are at your limit. Maxim: Anytime you’re at your limit, you’re only at your 40% of your potential. But can lead to burnout.
If you go 5% further, a bit more every time, you still associate it with positivity. Means you’re more consistent, rather than trying to max it out at 40%.
Create a vision
Pray for the strength to handle larger and larger stress.
i.e. Bank account savings instead of debt.
Build up huge knowledge base
Experiment - take small risks that are reversible.
You want your life to be convex I (short-term pain) across all the domains of your life.
How to apply it
We are designed to be super adapters.
Appreciate the value of stressors in your life.
Train your body to move towards stressors.
Train yourself to go a little bit further.
Think long-term.
Application
Identify the stressor.
Identify the “sweet spot” dosage.
Integrate the dosage into your life.
Make the most from the stressor.
Stressor Examples
Emotions
Body Domain
Relationships - Differences, Misunderstandings, Value conflicts, Arguments
To be a Super adapter
To be a super adapter you have to be willing to take on things that are challenging, stay awake and present through hard experiences.
Tools to build yourself into a Super adapter
- Acclimation – minutes to hours, i.e. you adapt to the cold, fish acclimates to the ph and water. There’s usually an initial shock. Or an idea that changes your way of thinking. Notice your ability to acclimate, physically, emotionally on the inside, both in inner game and outer game.
- Learn how to deal with paradox. See this as an advantage. i.e. raising money and some says focus on research, others product, others financing. Very different ideas. When I see paradox, people arguing with each other, feedback that’s contradictory, this is where there is opportunity. All the way to habitually inverting everything
- Inverting everything – Look at the opposite, what’s the other side and integrate. The pattern of the counterintuitive. Pattern, when we try to grow and be successful, paradoxes are important, calm yourself, when you have a fight, but you tell them to calm down. Look at the non-obvious, in life ask yourself, what if I took a different action or no action? Consider would I get a better ROI from another investment? This is how you invert. If you have a fear in life, what is the opposite of this fear? What is the desire I could put in place to balance this out? Or what is the opposite I could put in place to balance this out? Or if you have a goal, you can ask what is the nightmare I’m trying to avoid? Or if you have a nightmare and ask your self what is the goal?
Mantra:
I am a Superadapter, I acclimate, I grow and evolve in the face of challenges. Notice how you’ve done it in your life and review it regularly, when you faced challenges and overcame them. Envison how you’re going to adapt in the future as change accelerates as pressures become more multi-dimensional.
