The Human Mind (VIII) - Reorganization

Whenever a perception violates the system’s Reference Level, action will occur to bring the perception back under control. Sometimes that response is well defined, often, however, you don’t know exactly what is wrong or how to fix it.

Think of a perception as abstract as “job satisfaction”—there’s a set point in your mind that stands for “how happy I should be at work,” and your perception of job satisfaction is an average of your actual experiences at work. Pleasant experiences move the average higher, and unpleasant experiences move the average lower. If your perception of “job satisfaction” is lower than you think it should be (your Reference Level), your brain will kick into action—“I’m not as happy as I should be … Something needs to change.”

Here’s the problem: you may not know what that “something” is. Would you be happier if you changed assignments, worked for a new boss, left the company, or started working for yourself? Who knows? That’s where Reorganization comes in.

Reorganization is random action that occurs when a Reference Level is violated but you don’t know what to do to bring the perception back under control. The “quarter-life” or midlife crisis many people experience is a perfect example of Reorganization. You don’t quite know what to do to eliminate the angst you’re feeling, so you start doing things that aren’t normal for you, like quitting your job to backpack across Europe or getting a tattoo and buying a motorcycle. There’s something wrong, but it’s hard to know what.

Reorganization feels like you’re lost, depressed, or crazy—that’s completely normal. Your brain starts spitting out all kinds of off-the-wall things in an effort to find something to fix the situation. Sometimes, when I’m really stressed out, I’ll start to think that being a janitor sounds appealing—the work’s not difficult, you don’t have to think so much, and you still get paid. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, but this type of thought process is absolutely normal—my brain is just trying out random ideas to bring certain systems back under control.

Reorganization is the neurological basis of learning. As we’ll discuss in Pattern Matching, our minds are learning machines that associate specific causes with specific effects. If your mind hasn’t already learned what to do in a certain situation, the best way to solve the problem is to try new things in an effort to gather data. That’s what Reorganization is for—it’s the impulse to consider or try new things to see what works.

One of the most important things to understand about Reorganization is that it’s best not to fight it. Even though it’s sometimes tempting to try to convince yourself that everything is okay, resisting or repressing the impulse to try something different slows down your learning.

Once you learn how to bring the perception back under control, Reorganization stops naturally.

Embrace the mind’s request to try something new

The Personal MBA, Master the Art of Business - Josh Kaufman