The Strategic Life

Life requires strategy. This is an infinite truth that needs to be known. Without strategy and tactics, one must rely entirely on previous experience and natural intuition. When good strategy comes into play however, this will open up possibilities and successes that are not possible without it. There is a sacred holiness in the employment of strategy. It is a divine act. The biological evolutionary process took hundreds of millions of years, indeed billions of years, to produce creatures capable of using strategy.  One can use strategic thinking in all arenas which have the least bit of predictability. Strategy and tactics can be applied to any system that is not completely random. Basically in almost all arenas of life there exists strategy.

As one learns from the game of chess, one of the most important lessons that is applicable to the game of life is to take into account all the known (or reasonably knowable, when applied to life) possibilities before making your move. Obviously you cannot take into account every possible outcome or permutation in life, but you must try to be aware of and clear about what can happen in most if not all situations. Develop your foresight, your imagination of various scenarios and how they should play out. Consider at some length and detail the options, the possibilities, and the results. Always think, then act. Never take an action without adequately assessing the situation. Think ahead. The only justifiable excuse not to do so is when you are in a particular type of situation where you need to respond with unhesitating speed, but those circumstances are generally quite rare. In everyday life, you can expect at least some bit of time in order to calculate your best move, and then execute it. Realize that you can exploit any systematic behavior, any circumstance that has regularity to it. Look into the future, imagine the scenario playing out, search for the soundest course of action, given all the factors. See the end points, then reason back. If you commit any errors, then learn from them and continuously improve your strategic process to the best of your ability. Sharpen your strategic acumen. It is a skill which can be developed. In my opinion, such an important skill MUST be developed. 

The use of effective strategy overlaps alot with the use of good reasoning and judgment. It is much like common sense, except heightened to a greater degree and on steroids. Abstraction is added, hypotheticals are further examined, there is more analysis and future screening. It takes a little longer than simple quick judgment, but it is well worth the time spent. Think before you do, set up a plan (even little ones for regular, small tasks), and always reason in the context of achieving objectives and ends. It is better to get things done sooner rather than later, all things being equal. When facing opponents, one needs to have predictive abilities of another's actions as well. This involves some personality and motivations insight, particularly in how they will react. Knowing their style and preferences is helpful too. Know the rules of any endeavor, build experience in it, and learn the best tactics and how to use them. Come up with masterful ways to crush your enemies.

Strategy is a universe in and of itself. Look for strategy in all aspects of life that requires it. Look at the permutations. There is a wondrous weave you can see of the future, full of dangers as well as rewards. Much of what you can see and how you will do will be based on your imaginative and logical capacities. Both must be strong, and work well together. The choices, options and possibilities are all around you. Try not to be blind to them. Learn from mistakes. Make corrections. Make anti-errors. Build up a defensive bulwark against unwanted circumstances. Maximize your odds of victory. Minimize the likelihood of defeat. Seek and maximize the advantages. Stop wasting time. Manage yourself in an orderly fashion. Plan out your day and night, have a clear notion of what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Be efficient. Make good use of opportunities. Accumulate options and capabilities for yourself. If you have more options, more choices, and greater capability than your competition, you have the power. So seek to open up your options space. Game theory is a recommended area of study, though actual experience and competitions are by far the best arena for observation and learning. Practice the craft of strategy in life. It will also help you to develop discipline, good judgment, prediction/anticipation skills as well. There will be just rewards for well thought out, well executed strategies. There are going to be factors beyond your control, and failures due to your own error, but you must continually build up your ability in this most vital skill, because strategy is a most essential and necessary component in life. Use it wherever and whenever you need it (which is going to be many areas and often).