Read a tweet form @Kapathy saying Agency greater that intelligence
https://x.com/karpathy/status/1894099637218545984?s=20
https://usefulfictions.substack.com/p/how-to-be-more-agentic
https://map.simonsarris.com/p/the-most-precious-resource-is-agency
https://milan.cvitkovic.net/writing/things_youre_allowed_to_do/
https://pursuingagency.substack.com/p/pursuing-agency-and-reinvention
https://threex.substack.com/p/38-agency-and-taste-the-two-most
- Radical agency is about finding real edges: things you are willing to do that others aren’t, often because they’re annoying or unpleasant.
- High agency can be a confusing idea to understand because it’s not just one idea. It’s a combination of three distinct skills rarely found together
- Clear thinking
- Bias to action
- Disagreeability
High agency is like a tricycle. If you remove one of the wheels, it stops working.
The self-imposed prison exists purely in how your imagination frames reality.
Part 3 - Escaping Low Agency Traps
- The Vague Trap
- The Midwit Trap
- The Attachment Trap
- The Rumination Trap
- The Overwhelm Trap
Vague Trap Escape Route Define the problem in simple words out of your head As you transform out of your head, remember: The vague trap is often downstream from vague questions. Vague question: _What career should I choose? Specific question: What does my dream week look like hour by hour? What does my nightmare week look like hour by hour? What’s the gap between my current week and the dream/nightmare week?
The Attachment Trap The root cause of the attachment prison is last principles thinking — the opposite of first principles thinking Attachment Trap Escape Route: _What would I do if I had 10x the agency?
The Rumination Trap The rumination trap freezes agency. It’s being stuck in never-ending ‘what if it goes wrong?’ loops. Rumination Trap Escape Route: How can I take action on this now?
The Overwhelm Trap The overwhelm trap paralyses agency. The task is so daunting you don’t know where to begin. You drown in the sheer potential number of actions ahead of you. Overwhelm Trap Escape Route: What’s the smallest first step I can take?
The Turning Bullshit Into Reality Exercise
The turning bullshit into reality exercise shifts you to a creative model of the world. You pick things you value and let your creativity work its magic by aiming towards a value. Your self identity will begin to shift by doing high agency things that come up.
Think deeply about the things you value (gratitude, love, romance, loyalty, ambition etc) — channel your creativity and then operationalize them.