Why Do We Have Mental Models?
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The Origins of Mental Models: Why Do We Have Them?
Where does a mental model even come from?
I talk about them like they’re from IKEA.
Like we unpack them, read the label, follow the diagram.
“Attach Insight A to Insight B.”
And some of them aren’t even models —
just half scaffolds we never take down.
And still — we trust them to guide our decisions.
There’s different ways to think of them.
There’s the neuroscience version:
models as schema.
Hardwired, experience-fed, energy-efficient shortcut loops.
There’s the strategy version:
models as frameworks for decision-making.
Fast-access maps for navigating uncertainty.
There’s the cognitive science lens:
models as simulated reality engines.
Internal representations we test choices against.
All are useful.
But none explain;
why some models stick and others don’t.
Why some feel like tools,
and others feel like parts of who we are.
Because mental models aren’t things we think with.
They’re how we know we’re thinking at all.
They don’t create content. And they’re not output.
They’re cognitive infrastructure.
They are tools for moving thought,
not for having thoughts.
So for now, here’s the working version:
A mental model is a shortcut we choose to take when we make a decision.
It’s a self-built mechanism that helps you get the outcome you want.
Some are borrowed.
Some are built.
None arrive fully assembled.
And the ones that work?
They don’t make you think.
They help you think better.
So, mental models shape how we navigate the world.
Bu why do we rely on shortcuts?
Are they tools for survival or something deeper?
At their core, mental models simplify.
The world is overwhelming — too much to process.
So, we create shortcuts.
Lenses that help us filter out the noise.
They condense things.
Streamline.
Make decisions quick, without the overload.
But it’s not just about simplifying.
It’s about survival.
Our ancestors needed speed.
When danger loomed, time wasn’t a luxury.
They didn’t need precision.
They needed action.
Mental models gave them the speed to act.
Fast, imperfect, but good enough.
But they also helped us connect.
Understand each other.
Collaborate.
We’re told to make the right choice.
Be disciplined.
Push through.
But how often do we actually follow through when it’s hard?
Our brains don’t like the hard stuff.
They go for easy.
Comfort.
Predictability.
The path of least resistance.
It’s not laziness.
It’s biology.
Our brains are wired to conserve energy.
When something’s tough, it demands a lot of energy.
So, it’s hard to pick the best choice unless it’s easy.
It’s not about willpower, it’s about how we were designed.
Designing for the Brain
Effort isn’t the enemy.
We need it to grow.
To learn.
But when it comes to decision-making,
we need to design the effort.
Our brains love shortcuts.
They rely on two thinking systems:
System 1: Fast, automatic.
System 2: Slow, deliberate.
We use system 1 more.
It’s quick, efficient.
System 2 takes time.
It’s energy-draining.
So when we face tough decisions, we default to System 1.
We take the easy way out.
So the issue isn’t a lack of willpower.
It’s that we haven’t made the best choices easy enough.
We’ve been told that the best decisions take discipline.
But maybe that’s the wrong approach.
What if we built environments that align with how our brains work?
What if we designed systems that made the right choices feel effortless?
We’ve been told to fight our biases, to resist them.
But what if we leaned into them instead?
What if cognitive biases, like anchoring or status quo bias,
weren’t obstacles —
but tools for smarter decision-making?
Imagine a world where we use biases to guide us toward better choices.
Not fight them.
Where we design systems where cognitive biases work for us — not against us.
Now imagine fast automatic frameworks that don’t require willpower.
Where good choices just feel natural.
A system where we are in our own natural flow.
Using adapting mental models.
Not static.
Flexible.
Ready to shift with context.
Models that harness our natural biases,
making us feel confident about the parts of us we’re told to control and hide.
Because what happens when we design systems where the best choice is the easiest one?
Simple: We stop battling ourselves.
Instead of resisting our biases, we use them.
We stop fighting against our brain — and start working with it.
Smarter decisions, with less effort.
And that’s something that is hard to achieve in todays chaotic world.
Because what used to keep us safe is now holding us back.
Designing Choices to Fit Our Brain
Our brains are designed to conserve energy,
because energy conservation kept us alive.
Now that same instinct is sabotaging our decision-making.
When we know what’s best but still don’t act,
that’s not a lack of willpower.
That’s mental load.
The invisible weight that makes good decisions feel like a struggle.
Cognitive load is the mental cost of making decisions.
The higher the load, the more likely we’ll avoid making a good choice.
Effort isn’t the issue.
Effort is how we grow, how we learn.
The real problem is how we design that effort.
Imagine decision-making as a toolbox.
If you have one tool in your toolbox that you use for everything,
you’re not going to be the best handyman.
Instead of trying to hammer everything into shape with willpower,
pull out adaptive mental models.
Bias-driven heuristics.
Cognitive shortcuts.
These are our tools.
Shortcuts our brains naturally use.
When we use them correctly,
they guide us to better decisions.
The shift isn’t subtle.
We’ve been conditioned to believe good decisions require struggle.
But maybe we’ve been making it harder than it needs to be?
If we have the right playbook,
the best choices become the easiest.
We stop battling ourselves.
Instead of relying on willpower to overcome bad habits,
we create systems where good habits are the path of least resistance.
Willpower is a blunt tool.
It’s unsustainable.
When we try to push against our brain’s natural tendencies,
we hit resistance.
But what if we didn’t need to push at all?
It’s not about eliminating effort.
It’s about redirecting effort,
to move with the decisions we want to make.
In a world obsessed with better decisions,
leaning into cognitive biases feels almost...
sacrilegious.
I’m talking about redesigning the decision-making ecosystem.
Seeing heuristics and mental models as
catalysts for better outcomes.
What happens when bias stops being a bug —
and starts becoming the design?
This shift is big.
Organisationally.
Economically.
Cognitively.
Because if we know how the brain works —
(and we kind of do, now…)
why are we still building systems that fight it?
Take nudge theory.
Tiny shifts in how choices are framed.
No extra willpower required.
Just a smarter setup.
Because when friction drops,
clarity rises.
And decision fatigue starts disappearing by design.
Think bigger.
What happens when whole systems
start syncing with how we naturally think?
No more fighting our instincts.
No more overcorrecting for noise.
We’ve spent years chasing willpower.
What if we designed for wiring instead?
Willpower is fragile.
But what if that was the wrong input altogether?
Better decisions don’t need superhuman discipline.
They need better design.
Systems that match
how attention flows
and how energy dips.
Not punishment for being distracted.
No prizes for pushing through.
Just environments that let our brains do what they do best.
We don’t need another “framework.”
We need a new mental environment.
One made for the demands of todays world,
not yesterdays.
One where models
don’t just explain things —
they guide things.
Shape decisions.
Direct behaviour.
Control the flow of thought under pressure.
Forget battling cognitive overload.
Forget forcing focus.
Start designing for it.
This isn’t about changing habits.
This is system redesign.
Imagine organisations where the right choice isn’t a surprise —
it’s the starting point.
Where strategic advantage
isn’t about more data —
but better defaults.
Where teams perform
not because they try harder —
but because the way they work understands them.
We don’t need more motivation.
We need better engineering of work.
What if we stopped designing
around what we wish brains could do —
and started designing
around what they actually do?
We can create a playbook for smarter thinking.
Not rules to memorize,
but tools to deploy,
in real time,
when needed.
A playbook that adapts,
evolving with us.
With the right model ready,
waiting to be pulled
at the right moment.
Willpower is a finite resource.
Like fuel in a tank, it runs out.
But what if we didn’t need to constantly fill the tank?
What if we could design decisions to happen easier?
Not because we tried harder,
but because we work with how our brains are wired.
What if the best choices were the easiest ones?
We’ve been conditioned to fight our mental shortcuts.
But those biases?
They’re not flaws.
They’re built-in accelerants.
Whether we like it or not.
So why do we need to fight them?
And none of this needs to be fixed.
None of it needs to be static.
It can evolve.
We can design it to shift with context.
The magic isn’t in a perfect formula.
It’s in creating an ecosystem where the right choices happen
as a natural outcome.
This is about natural alignment.
When we stop trying to fix ourselves,
we build systems that fit our natural tendencies.
What does that playbook look like?
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