Who wants to stay version 1.0? A playdoyer for a mental awakening.

Most people develop a model of perception of their environment in their youth, which determines their self-image. And then stick with it forever. A playdoyer for more personal, mental mobility and active self-transformation.

(Reading time: 4 minutes)

“Please stay the way you are”

You probably know the situation: someone wishes you a happy birthday and hopes that “you stay the way you are”. We ignore this as a compliment.

But if we take a closer look, it becomes clear that this is an outrageous demand in itself. You should no longer develop. To remain in one place. Objectively speaking, this can only be a good thing when it is reduced to the physical.

Fortunately, people are not too serious about this. What they want to say is that they like their current relationship with you. And that this moment is beautiful.

Whenever I hear this sentence, I think that I will probably do everything I can think of, but staying the way I am right now, yes, that won’t happen. Not consciously.

A sin of youth

My conscious desire to change started with a stupid youthful sin. I had experimented with a substance that broke my psyche down into its individual parts for two days. This was followed by two weeks in an unconscious but functioning state in which I tried to, well, function as well as possible. However, I was unable to form even a banal, stringent thought.

I wasn’t sedated or anything like that. Rather, my self-confidence was spread across different levels, all of which evaluated and categorized each other in different ways. This led to an unprecedented level of insecurity for me. And I learned during this time that reality, as we accept it as a convention, does not exist. Because we are always the product of our own personal perception. And perception is completely relative. Everything you see, what you hear and what you feel anyway.

Another two weeks later, a kind of self-reflection returned, with which I first certified to myself that I was probably seriously ill. As I associated going to the doctor with hellish consequences at the time, I had to find a way to get out of this situation myself.

I therefore began to categorize my confused thought patterns, to connect feelings with situations, to imagine how I would like to think, how I wanted to be mentally. After months of inner effort, things were actually improving day by day. My sense of myself returned. And it was once again possible to think, function and act unconsciously. This also gave me a whole new sense of self-confidence. And joy in life.

Mental Models

Mentally strengthened and redefined, so to speak, by the experience, I sensed that I could apply the same process to events and challenges in a healthy state. Although, fortunately, less dangerously and intensely.

And I started reading about it and realized that I was not alone in this. Generally referred to as “mental models”, many people consciously use this method to overcome problems and challenges. And to change and move forward.

“The image of the world around us, which we carry in our head, is just a model. Nobody in his head imagines all the world, government or country. He has only selected concepts, and relationships between them, and uses those to represent the real system.”

Jay Wright Forrester

In relation to business, there is a whole range of formulated mental models. Basically, it is always about re-evaluating an entrenched perception of a challenge and shifting this perception slightly so that new solutions can be developed.

You slowly but surely form an alternative reality (a terrible word in this day and age, I know, but I can’t find a better term), which allows you to see things more clearly. When dealing with the environment, however, it is advisable to continue to accept the general reality for the time being. Otherwise you will quickly be seen as crazy. At least until you can provide good – objective – evidence for your own reality. If this happens, you are quickly regarded as a genius, which is of course complete nonsense.

Mental models in the private sector

I believe that everyone works consciously or unconsciously with these mental models. It is exciting to actively apply them to personal development. To issue them as a paradigm of action for yourself. There are quite banal mental models. For example, before making decisions, put yourself in the position you will be in 20 years’ time and think about how you would evaluate the upcoming decision from this perspective.

No longer the person I once was

This desire to develop myself continued. One fundamental realization from this is that, once I have found the right mental models, I can simply learn anything. I am not somehow super-intelligent. On the contrary. Rather, I look for a conscious change in thinking and awareness in the relevant area until I understand things quickly. This has opened up a whole new world for me, who always had quite a hard time at school. For example, it enabled me to set up a company and a family at the same time and to study business administration and a master’s degree at the same time.

In the process, I became a completely different person than I was five years ago, for example. Of course, there are still personal preferences and tendencies, and I still have a heart that belongs to the same people. But my thinking is completely different. Consciously.

Day one!

Because I like change, moving on, entering new mental territory. I like the way things change. Even if it’s really tedious at times. I like shedding old baggage. And I like the first day. The day when the horizon seems limitless.

I believe that by constantly striving to develop yourself mentally, you create this day one again and again on a small scale. You create a new horizon for yourself.

And this horizon allows you to approach challenges differently. Better. So don’t primarily try to solve your problems and challenges, but first try to get your mind into a state that creates day one in relation to the problem. It’s about having the right mental tool for the job. After all, you’re not trying to drive a screw into wood with a hammer.

Move

So: change, have courage. Don’t lose yourself. Don’t experiment with substances, keep your hands off them – whether legal or illegal. They are a waste of time. Get out there and do things differently. Build the world of tomorrow in your head. It will become reality sooner than you think. Talk to “not-your-peers”. Stay active. Don’t give up. Keep going. Take your loved ones with you by talking to them constantly. Stay active. Don’t let things be good. Make yourself better. Don’t stay version 1.0.