The Mental Health Digest - My all-time favorite mental model 🧠

My all-time favorite mental model 🧠

By Jordan Brown - Mental Health Newsletter Writer, Poet, Social Worker, and Advocate • Issue #402 • View online

Do you know what mental models are?

If you’re like I was just a few years ago, the words “mental models” logically make sense.

But you may not instantly know how they can help you in your own life.

These days, I know I know how useful mental models are.

In fact, I think about mental models and use various models every day to make my life easier.

Today, you’re going to learn how to do the same with one mental model in particular.

TRYING SOMETHING NEW - BRIEF INTERLUDE

I’m trying something new here as a way to share a quick update each newsletter and to, hopefully, financially support the hours I put into this newsletter each week!

I sent you a rare Friday email last week because of the spammer problem that impacted the email service I use and led to almost all my Thursday emails going to spam last Thursday.

GREAT news, the email I sent from this new email address seemed to get through to you all, and 40+ people responded!

I’m blown away by how many people care about these emails I send. Really, I am. That is by far the most responses I’ve ever gotten to one email, and you helped me “warm up” this new email to show email servers that I’m not spam.

Now, if you want to support me, here are two books about trauma that have helped me so much in my own life. I recommend the first one all the time.

They are The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk and Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others with Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky. (Do Dutch names make you a trauma wiz?? 🤗)

If you buy either one of these, I will get a very small portion of it to fund the two newsletters I send each week. Thank you.

Now, on to your featured programming! :)

What are Mental Models?

Mental models are like cheat codes.

They are tools you can use to make better decisions and faster decisions.

The problem is, you need to know what models to use–and when to use them.

Let me give you an example.

How do you know who to be friends with?

It might sound like a random, stupid question, but how do you actually know?

You’ve probably come up with rules of thumb throughout your life that tell you someone might be a good friend.

Maybe they smile with their eyes–you know, that genuine smile that tells you they’re not faking it.

Or maybe they back up their words with action. For me, that’s one of the telltale signs of someone I can trust.

Whatever it might be, these shortcuts are actually models.

They map out the world as you know it, and they help you get through life without having to worry about every little decision.

If you want more examples, here’s a list of 30 mental models you can use, although I’ll warn you, it’s pretty technical, so not very human-friendly.

Ok, so now you know that mental models are ways you can hack your way through the jungle of life.

But what does that actually mean?

A Mental Model You Can Use to Improve Your Life

It's ALIVE!

The best way I know how to teach and share with others is to use examples from my own life.

One of the mental models I use all the time is the 80/20 principle.

The 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Principle, is a phenomenon that appears everywhere in life.

It states that 20% of inputs are responsible for 80% of the outcome. 20% of people will hold 80% of the wealth in any given area. And 20% of your relationships are responsible for 80% of the value you get from relationships as a whole.

Although it’s a model and not a hard-and-fast rule, I’ve found the 80/20 Principle to be shockingly accurate in my own life.

Here’s when I use this mental model:

When I’m stuck on a project and I don’t know what action to take next
When I’m stretched too thin and I need to figure out where to actually invest my time and energy
When I’m trying to decide what to write about next (AKA figuring out what topic could relate with the most people)
When I’m wanting to choose a workout that won’t take forever but will actually help me get stronger and have more energy (Push-ups for the win!)

Now it’s your turn.

If you stop to think about it, I’m sure there are certain mental models that you use all the time.

You may even use the 80/20 Principle without realizing it.

Think about these questions:

Are there mental models you are currently using?

Are they helping you or hurting you?

Could you try a new mental model for a week to see how it impacts your decisions?

Because, whether you know it or not, you’re using mental models every single day.

And you could be using ones that don’t help you very much.

That’s why it’s so important to ruthlessly interrogate the models your mind relies on.

The better your models of reality are, the better the outcomes you’ll get in life.

It may not happen immediately, but it will happen.

Commit this week to try out the 80/20 Principle or any other mental model that sounds interesting.

Life’s too short to follow a model that’s hurting you and holding you back.

What do you think? Could this work for you?

Reply to this email and send me one sentence about what you think!

I’m also always open to feedback about anything I write and any new experiment I try to support this newsletter. Mi inbox es tu inbox.

I hope you’re well. Keep your head up and keep going.

Jordan

P.S. I’m adding my favorite mental health books to this new page on my site. It’s kind of a secret, but I wanted you to be one of the first ones to know. Let me know if you have any favorite books I should check out.

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I spend hours putting these two newsletters together every week because I want people to have information that I wish I had when I was struggling.

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Did you enjoy this issue?

By Jordan Brown - Mental Health Newsletter Writer, Poet, Social Worker, and Advocate

The Mental Health Update Mental Health Newsletter provides you with authentic mental health articles that make mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and OCD meaningful AND accessible.

This is different from typical mental health newsletters and articles about mental health challenges.

It's not just an Anxiety Email Newsletter or a Depression Email Newsletter - It's two weekly articles packed with timeless mental health wisdom and inspiration to start your day in a thoughtful, uplifting way.

I was tired of other "mental health care" newsletters blasting out generic lists of links and depression articles.

And I was especially tired of them not focusing on the everyday reality of mental health issues.

So I decided to come up with something I wanted to read.

This health newsletter is like a caring friend that just wants you to feel better.

Mental health awareness articles don't need to be all doom and gloom and filled with jargon.

With The Mental Health Update, you'll get practical mental health information, tips, and new ways to view the world. Especially now, with people reeling from the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, we need trusted voices telling it like it is.

We discuss topics like anxiety, depression, OCD, the mental health to mental illness spectrum, social and communication skills, and much, much more.

This is what a few subscribers had to say about The Mental Health Update:

"If you haven't yet subscribed to Jordan's mental health newsletter, you absolutely should. It's chock full of good stuff to read and will help make your day better. Not unlike a daily vitamin for your mental health and soul..." - JR

"Encouragement from someone who has “been there” when it comes to mental health struggles. Comes in the form of stories and simple, actionable tips for reframing and working with - and through - your issues. One of the few newsletters that has survived my ruthless inbox decluttering sprees. Highly recommended!" - Kelila

"Jordan's mental health update is a welcomed email in my inbox. It often provides me with a chance to break from the mundane tasks of working in an office and take a moment for myself to hear his thoughtful and well put together thoughts on many aspects of mental health. As someone who works in the psychology field it's often a nice reminder and way of grounding myself to all the great work that's going on and the journey we all must take in supporting mental health. Thank you Jordan!" - Rob

I take my no-spam policy very seriously. I consider it a mental health obligation to not abuse your trust or raise your anxiety.

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The Mental Health Digest - My all-time favorite mental model 🧠

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