Thinking Frameworks Solve Your Problems
When you don’t have a logical structure or framework you are leaving your mind exposed to chaos, or what I like to call The Thought Chaos Loop. In The Thought Chaos Loop you are unable think critically about how best to solve your problems. When you consistently use frameworks as guide rails, it maps out a process for your mind to follow and better solve your problems. I like to call this The Thought Order Path.
Here’s a visual to explain both:
Let’s see it in context:
Most coaches ‘wing it’ when they interact with players.
They entirely improvise how they are going to help a player. They do not have a logical structure or framework that they work through to help players reflect on their actions. Usually their behavior is a result of the habits they have picked up over the years from mentors or colleagues.
This results in a random mix of behaviors they have picked up over the years. This random collection of behaviors means that they won’t know when and where to implement different strategies to better help their players.
And most coaches are entirely unaware that they don’t have a framework.
It’s very simple.
THE THOUGHT CHAOS LOOP:
At some point as coaches we go all through the Thought Chaos Loop. It starts when we are observing our players play and our expectations do not match with reality.
We all have a picture in our head of how things are supposed to happen, how we intend for things to work out.
This difference between our expectations and reality triggers unpleasant emotions in ourselves. It depends on the person and situation, but they might come in the form of anger, disappointment, frustration, etc.
When these unpleasant emotions take over our minds, it causes us to be unable to focus on anything at all. When we are in this Thought Chaos Loop, we cannot think about solutions, or how we can best act to solve the problem to better align reality with our expectations. Without possible solutions on how to best achieve our intention, we go back to the unpleasant feelings keeping us in our chaotic thoughts.
When I am in this Thought Chaos Loop, I feel my mind going a thousand miles a minute but without ever getting anywhere; unable to see the path out. It feels as though there are heavy storm clouds in my mind making it hard to think about what’s the best course of action to escape.
During the Thought Chaos Loop, we may act in ways that are ineffective or do not align with our identity. We may even do or say things that we regret.
I have seen and experienced the Thought Chaos Loop, and it’s not pretty.
THE THOUGHT ORDER PATH:
The alternative is what I like to call the Thought Order Path.
This starts out the same way. We are observing players and our expectations do not match reality.
This may trigger unpleasant emotions but as soon as we notice these emotions, we bring to mind our logical framework that we can work through to solve the problem at hand.
By initiating your framework, you now have the ability to focus on the path forward, the best possible solution to align your expectations with reality. You can now act with intention.
From here, instead of it being a loop it’s path out towards action.
We can now act with the best possible solution according to our framework and attempt to better align our expectations with reality.
ESTABLISH YOUR FRAMEWORK:
This framework can be a mental model, a heuristic, a procedure, a set of steps to follow (like the one I use).
The key to your framework is that you have to have it etched in your mind. You have to know it like the back of your hand. It has to be part of your identity. It must be ingrained in you.
A good way to test this is by explaining it to a novice without using jargon or having to demonstrate it. Essentially, if you can verbalize it without skipping a beat it’s most likely an unconscious habit (ie. you’re aware of it but you do it without thinking.)
RECAP:
As you have seen, by having a framework to fall back on when we are experiencing unpleasant emotions, we are better able to process the situation and devise a path forward.
This allows us to spend more of our energy solving the problem at hand with intentional actions as opposed to getting stuck in the Thought Chaos Loop.
