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Look for the underlying pattern
We humans are pattern-spotting machines. The world can often seem complex and random, but if you look under the covers, you can sometimes find an underlying pattern for its behaviour. In fact, it's the discovery of such patterns that have driven our development forward in many areas.
For example, Sir Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics, worked out many of the underlying patterns in the way the physical world worked. His discoveries led to a scientific revolution which is still unfolding around us today. Simply by carefully looking at the evidence available, and forming theories based on that evidence, Sir Isaac changed humanity forever.
In many successful people you can see this examination of the underlying patterns at work. Warren Buffet, the world's most successful investor, clearly has a good understanding of the ebbs and flows of the financial world. He can see the hidden mechanisms better than the rest of us, and as a result has turned himself into the world's second richest man.
The leaders of Microsoft and Apple have a clear understanding of the patterns of the technology market. They may not always be the world's greatest techies, but they can see what consumers want and how to give it to them.
Even in more ordinary fields, it's those who can better decipher how the system works that usually win. In the mating game, those who understand what drives the opposite sex have a clear advantage over their less knowledgable peers. In the job market, those who can figure out the patterns of how people get hired and promoted, will usually do better. In sport, if I can work out your pattern of play, I can tailor my own game to take advantage of that.
We all get caught up in the random flow of life. The world can throw some difficult curve-balls at us, and it's easy to conclude that it's all unfair and disordered. But after you've fallen over and dusted yourself off, try to work out what went wrong.
What was the underlying pattern of the system you were playing at? Are things working differently from how you expected them to? What are you missing? What can't you see that may be driving forces to work against you?
Of course, our pattern-spotting behaviour can also have disadvantages. Sometimes, we're so desperate to find the reasons and causes for why things are as they are, that we can see a pattern where there is none. It's then that we fall into superstition and conspiracy theory.
Some ancient people thought they saw a pattern between animal sacrifice and good crop-growing weather. They'd slaughter animals for the gods, in the hope they'd have a good season. We now know this was silly, but many people once believed this theory. They thought they saw a pattern where there wasn't one.
Many conspiracy theorists also see patterns where they don't exist. They see a connection between powerful forces that are doing wrong, but often these theories are nonsense.
Base your search for patterns on the evidence. Always be willing to let go of a theory that sounded nice, but turned out to be false.
Become a master at discovering the true underlying patterns of the world, and your rewards will be enormous.
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