There is a lot to learn from Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett with regard to how people can improve their thinking. The circle of competence mental model is based on the notion that you should strive to find an area in your life where you think you are naturally strong and focus on it. This is your area of expertise.
Sometimes we waste a lot of time and energy concentrating on tasks or careers that we are not good at. The effect of this is that it leaves us with a lot of pressure to keep up. We end up struggling to meet our goals in life.
The circle of competence, advocates that you should find your area of expertise and focus on it. In a way, this sounds like specialization. Concentrating your efforts on one particular area guarantees that you perfect what you are doing. You transform yourself to become the best in your own world. Ultimately, this ensures that you make smart choices that are in line with your goals.
Succeeding in life largely depends on how you make decisions. If you are a good decision-maker, you are likely to live a happy and blissful life. This is because you will always accomplish your set goals. However, this doesn’t come on a silver platter. You ought to change how you think using the mental models discussed in this chapter. First, you should realize that the perceptions you hold in your mind will have an impact on how you view the world around you.
Accordingly, you should utilize confirmation bias to separate yourself from your personal beliefs. Give yourself an opportunity to experience life as it comes. Don’t make assumptions that will only drive you to think negatively about everything.
With regard to productivity, always have it in mind that being busy doesn’t mean that you are productive. Similarly, completing many tasks in a day also doesn’t account for your productivity. Productivity is determined by your effectiveness to complete tasks.
Therefore, using the Eisenhower matrix model, you should learn to differentiate between important and urgent tasks. This will give you insights on how you can prioritize important tasks and delegate others. All in all, success is heavily reliant on how you use your productive time.
