System's Thinking and Self Improvement

[Raptorsin7]

I want to start a reading habit, but i'm not sure where to begin reading. I have heard of systems thinking but i've never actually read anything in depth on the subject. Is it possible to use system's thinking to improve different aspects of our lives. For example, my diet is not good, and I can conceivably view my diet as a system in and of itself. Does system's thinking apply to different aspects of our lives, like diet. Is this an essential topic to personal development?

Are there any other critical books you guys recommend to make practical and pragmatic changes to our lives for the better. 

[Byun Sean]

Yes systems thinking as a very valuable way of looking at the world. Leo’s booklist has some books on systems thinking, he has some videos. spiral dynamics is a useful system to study as well. Although, make sure you are ready to learn it. It is a higher level personal development skill that takes a lot of effort and practice to develop relative to ordinary self-help. I personally tried to learn systems thinking pretty early on in my journey as well and i couldn’t wrap my mind Round it. Not even close. I had to come back after a year or so of growth to learn the skill again and then I got it 

[Raptorsin7]

@Byun Sean How has systems thinking changed your life? How do you use it?

[Knock]

The trick to being a consistent reader is to just read what you are currently interested in. If you read books because someone told you to, then you won't enjoy it and it will feel like a chore. 

Self-help knowledge has less to do with the content, and more to do with the timing and applicability in your life.

Lots of financial books ultize systems thinking via money psychology. If you are interested in money, that might be a good point to start.

[Byun Sean]

Yes systems thinking as a very valuable way of looking at the world. Leo’s bookli

1 minute ago, Raptorsin7 said:

@Byun Sean How has systems thinking changed your life? How do you use it?

Once you develop the ability to view the world as a set of complex systems, you stop blaming other people or singular causes and are able to track the root of problems. This can apply to your own life as well. Like you said, you can look at your diet as a system, your relationships as systems, the human mind as a system etc. it’s by no means the ‘best’ or only way of looking at the world but it is a powerful way

[Nahm]

Yes, essential & very important. It opens up a broader more encompassing perspective & use of logic, reason & understanding. The scope & breathe of your vision expands, and so your dream of what is possible in this life does too. If you haven’t looked into spiral dynamics yet, the two pair great together. Very eye opening. People’s predicaments & perspectives, motives, and the systems employed by us, how they fit together. Neat.

Draw a half circle on your dream board, like the sun coming up on the horizon. Label that sun ‘diet’. Then draw a bigger half circle around / above that one, and write the bigger thing you want to experience, be, have, or do in this lifetime. What you really want. That which inspires you to the degree you’re loving the idea of feeling light, clean, healthy, energetic, connected, enthused, focused, and reveling in well being. Most of all, look forward to clarity you haven’t experienced before. That’s awesome. And of course, intuition & instinct. Maybe a siddhi or two down the road. Enjoy it all. 

Also, draw a bigger half circle around that, slap yourself across the face with a wet spatula, wake up, and get real about dreaming bigger. Then write that in the bigger circle. Then draw another one. Then take a step back and see how awe inspiring and freeing your health & well being is, to this moment right now. 

[Neorez]

Look up how to make a system map. A system map does what is says it maps out the system and all the components in them and how they interrelate. When you've made you're system map try to find intervention or leverage points in them. These points are nodes that influence a lot of the system. This way you can use system thinking with the problem you're trying to solve.