High-Agency thinking for a purposeful life

Introduction

In a world of endless noise and conventional advice, true growth often comes from embracing high-agency thinking—the ability to see beyond standard solutions and create your own path forward. This isn't about rejecting wisdom but about developing a more nuanced, intentional approach to life's challenges. Today, I'd like to share some powerful mental models that have transformed my approach to decision-making, relationships, and personal development.

The Power of Unconventional Decision-Making

Choose Your Crisis Companions Wisely

If unsure who to work with, pick the person you'd call when stuck in a 3rd world jail cell.

This might sound extreme, but it cuts through the noise of professional credentials and surface-level impressions. While planning a challenging hiking trip, I had to decide between two friends to invite. One was an experienced outdoorsman with impressive gear and stories of previous adventures. The other had less technical experience but had demonstrated remarkable calm and resourcefulness in everyday situations. Thinking about who I'd want beside me if something went wrong on the trail, I chose the latter. This proved prescient when unexpected storms hit during our trek, and my friend's adaptability and steady demeanor helped us navigate safely back to civilization while other hikers panicked around us.

The real test of a relationship isn't how someone performs during success but how they respond during crisis. Consider applying this filter to your professional collaborations—it reveals character traits that no resume can capture.

Seek Historical Significance

If unsure what to work on, ask: What is ignored by the media but will be studied by historians?

Our attention is constantly pulled toward what's trending, but lasting impact often happens in the spaces nobody's watching. When I felt directionless in my career several years ago, I started examining which developments would matter in decades rather than days.

While everyone was discussing cryptocurrency price fluctuations, I became fascinated by the underlying blockchain technology's potential for transforming trust systems in developing economies. This led me to join a project that, while receiving minimal media attention, was creating infrastructure that would impact millions of lives.

Look for the signal in the noise—the developments that aren't making headlines but are quietly reshaping our future. This perspective shift can transform your work from merely productive to genuinely meaningful.

Choose the Better Story

If unsure on a decision, ask: What's the best story?

We often approach decisions with rigid analytical frameworks, weighing pros and cons in spreadsheets. While logical analysis has its place, there's profound wisdom in considering which path creates the more compelling narrative of your life.

When debating whether to accept a prestigious but conventional role or pursue a riskier venture with greater potential impact, I asked myself: "Which decision would make a better story?" Not for social media validation, but for my own sense of a life well-lived.

The "best story" approach isn't about choosing the most impressive-sounding option—it's about identifying which path aligns with your authentic values and contributes to a life narrative you'll be proud to claim. It's remarkable how often this simple filter clarifies otherwise complex decisions.

Collaborative Intelligence and Problem-Solving

The Whiteboard Effect

Nobody regrets spending too much time with a whiteboard and smart people.

In our digital age, we've underestimated the transformative power of analog collaboration. Some of my most significant breakthroughs have come not from solitary digital work but from sessions with colleagues around a whiteboard, where ideas collide and evolve in real-time.

Last year, I was struggling with planning a career transition. After weeks of researching online and overthinking alone, I invited three friends from different fields to help me brainstorm. We spent an evening with a whiteboard mapping possibilities. Within hours, patterns emerged that I had completely missed on my own with also several concrete steps that have since transformed my professional path.

Make deliberate space for collaborative thinking with people who challenge you. The synergy of diverse perspectives around a shared visual space creates a unique form of intelligence that can't be replicated through other means.

Unsticking Your Thinking

You're often not stuck on a problem. Try writing, walking, talking or drawing—and watch it solve itself.

What we perceive as being "stuck" is frequently just our mind's way of signaling that we need to change modalities. I experienced this while developing the framework for this newsletter. After days of frustration staring at an outline on my screen, I printed my notes, took them to a nearby park, and began sketching connections between ideas while walking.

Within an hour, the structure that had eluded me for days emerged with surprising clarity. The change in environment and thinking modality unlocked perspectives that were inaccessible in my usual working context.

When facing resistance, don't push harder in the same direction—shift your approach entirely. Your mind processes information differently across various modalities, and the solution often emerges when you least expect it.

Rumination as a Signal

Rumination is a smoke alarm for action.

That persistent thought keeping you awake isn't merely anxiety—it's your mind signaling that something requires your attention. Last autumn, I found myself repeatedly thinking about a friendship that had gradually faded over the previous year. Despite trying to dismiss these thoughts as nostalgic melancholy, they kept resurfacing at unexpected moments.

Rather than continuing to push these thoughts away, I recognized them as an internal alarm system. When I finally sat down to examine what was bothering me, I realized I had never properly expressed my appreciation for how this friend had supported me through a difficult period years earlier. The relationship hadn't ended with conflict—it had simply drifted due to life circumstances—but this unacknowledged gratitude was creating a persistent cognitive loop.

I wrote a thoughtful letter expressing what their friendship had meant to me. Within days of sending it, not only did the rumination completely stop, but we reconnected in a meaningful way.

Learn to distinguish between unproductive worry and legitimate signals from your intuition. When a thought persists despite your attempts to dismiss it, it's often highlighting an area that genuinely needs your attention—not necessarily a problem to solve, but sometimes a truth to acknowledge or an action to take.

Reframing Possibilities and Interactions

The Physics of Possibility

If it doesn't defy the laws of physics, it's possible.

We often dismiss ambitious ideas not because they're truly impossible, but because they seem improbable within conventional frameworks. This mental model has transformed how I approach challenges.

When considering launching a program that many industry veterans deemed "impossible" due to market conditions, I asked myself: "Does this violate any fundamental laws of physics?" The answer was no—it was merely challenging within existing paradigms. By breaking down the actual barriers rather than accepting perceived limitations, we created a successful initiative that others had dismissed as impossible.

Question whether the limitations you perceive are genuine physical constraints or merely conventional boundaries that can be reimagined. This distinction opens up possibilities that most people never consider.

The Value Exchange in Communication

Nobody is receiving too many truly valuable cold messages. If they read it and didn't reply—you didn't provide enough value (as judged by them).

In our connected world, we often blame our communication failures on others' overwhelm rather than examining our value proposition. When reaching out to potential mentors or partners, I've learned that the problem isn't usually their busy inbox—it's my failure to create genuine value in my initial approach.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to connect with an industry leader, I completely reimagined my approach. Rather than asking for their insight, I shared a detailed analysis of a challenge in their industry with specific, actionable recommendations. The response came within hours, beginning a relationship that can be transformative for both parties.

Focus less on your need to be heard and more on creating genuine value for the recipient. This shift in perspective transforms how you communicate and dramatically improves your connection rate.

Practical Applications for Daily Life

The Compression Principle

If someone says end of month, ask for end of week. If someone says end of week, ask for end of day. Gas shrinks to the size of the container.

We've all experienced how work expands to fill available time. The reverse is equally powerful—constraints often produce better, more focused results. When a colleague suggested a month-long timeline for a project analysis, I asked if we could attempt a preliminary version within a week.

Not only did we meet the compressed deadline, but the quality was superior because the constraint eliminated unnecessary complexity and forced us to focus on core elements. The discipline of compression often reveals what's truly essential.

Experiment with compressing timelines to discover the optimal balance between thoughtfulness and efficiency. You'll be surprised how often "impossible" deadlines become not just possible but beneficial.

The Mirror Effect

Smile and watch people smile more. Frown and watch people frown more. Humans are reflexive. You can fork reality just by changing your facial expressions.

The environments we experience are partially our own creation. For two weeks, I conducted a simple experiment: consciously projecting warmth and openness in every interaction. The transformation in my daily experience was remarkable—from more engaged conversations with baristas to more productive team meetings.

This isn't superficial positivity but recognition of our role in co-creating our social reality. By changing how we show up, we literally change the world we experience.

Your demeanor creates a feedback loop that shapes your entire environment. This gives you significant power to influence the quality of your daily interactions through conscious choices about how you present yourself.

Conclusion: Clarity Leads to Action

Muddy thinking leads to more muddy thinking. Clear thinking leads to action.

The quality of our thinking directly determines the quality of our lives. By embracing these high-agency mental models, you're not just collecting interesting ideas—you're developing frameworks that translate directly into more purposeful action and deeper fulfillment.

I encourage you to experiment with at least one of these approaches this week. Notice how it shifts not just what you do, but how you perceive your options and capabilities. The path to a more meaningful life often begins with a simple but profound shift in perspective.

What high-agency thinking model might transform your current challenge? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments.