The time fallacy of reinvention

The secret is to reinvent yourself before the decline occurs.

To dig your identity well before you’re thirsty, if you will.

Because like any process, reinvention takes longer than you think. And you have to get out ahead of it.

Hofstadter comes to mind, the famed professor of cognitive science. His eponymous law shows how hard it is to accurately estimate the time it will take to complete tasks of substantial complexity.

Originally, he introduced this planning fallacy in connection with chess playing computers, although it has broader applications for more holistic types of growth processes.

Here are few ideas to think about.

First, forgive yourself for not changing faster.

It’s likely that you’re planning with a lot of optimism, and that’s a good thing. If you weren’t excited about this next phase of life, that would make the process much harder. Just keep in mind, not only are most people poor historians, but most of people are also notoriously bad at predicting the future.

There’s no way for us to guess what will make us happy down the road, since we can’t know in advance how we will feel when that thing finally becomes our reality. It’s all happy hunches and lucky guesses, and that’s okay. Entering into the growth process with our expectations at bay is huge.

Something else to remember to do is, schedule some extra time to accommodate the unexpected. That way, you won’t have to scramble around so damn much.

It’s like the woman at my office who always books five back to back meetings each afternoon. Her efficiency is helpful, but her stress level is also through the roof. And if one meeting goes long, it creates a chain reaction of anxiety that trickles down. It’s just not worth it.

On the macro level, if you’re starting a new career, relocating to a new city, or even merging your life with a new partner, see if you can build in some buffers. Give yourself plenty of flexible windows, rather than hard deadlines. The process will flow much smoother.

One final thought on the time fallacy of reinvention. As you evolve into a new version of yourself, resist the temptation to make rash decisions out of frustration.

It’s perfectly human to want to change your life yesterday, but don’t rush off manically on some wild reinvention chase, just for the sake of speed. Just because the very first resume you send out gets a callback, doesn’t mean you should start buying clothes for your first day at the office.

Everything takes longer than you think. And if impatience clouds judgment, you risk losing sight of your motivation for wanting to change in the first place.

What change do you need to be more patient with?