I was looking for something else in the 43 Folders archives, and came across this gem of an article:

My theory is that the secret code for most self-improvement systems—from Getting Things Done through Biofeedback and the Atkins diet—is not hard to break; any idea that helps you to become more self-aware can usually help you to reach a goal or affect a favorable solution. That’s pretty much the entire bag of doughnuts right there.

Self-improvement juju works not because of magic beans or the stones in your soup pot; it works because a smart “system” can become a satisfying cipher for framing a problem and making yourself think about solutions in an ordered way. Systems help you minimize certain kinds of feedback while amplifying others.

In the comments, ex-psyop Adam Greenfield says:

In my experience, the most elegant statement of this insight is something I’ve heard floating around the Special Ops community, and nowhere else: “Control follows awareness.”

Full Story: 43 Folders.