Are you tired of people talking about frameworks and mindset?
You may know what I mean immediately. If you don’t, go on Twitter and search “framework,” or “mindset.” A large group of people are doing what people have always done: trying to get a leg up in their career or learn more about the world by studying other peoples’ lives or new academic disciplines. What’s changed is that there is a bustling trade in this kind of information, and some of these wonderfully dense ideas have rebranded using the language of “framework,” and “mindset.”
I love the idea of expanding your mind, learning about life, and seeing the world as others see it. But talking about “mindset” or “frameworks” sounds so transactional. It sounds studied and borrowed, rather than earned. It can imply deep understanding, but it is often used to mean a rather mechanical distillation, summary, or breakdown of other peoples’ lives and work. Trafficking in frameworks and mindset is using a Snapchat filter, whereas traditional learning and study is more like knowing how to compose a good photo.
I remember once reading a book where I was having so much fun I literally gasped with joy when I turned a page. I had to call someone to tell them. My friend had also read the book and enjoyed but challenged my take on what I was reading. Learning should be like that: fun and playful sometimes, but serious other times. It should be solitary sometimes, but social–and maybe even competitive–other times.
A lot of people who learn publicly and teach others have reduced all their learning to a transaction of knowledge, commodified as frameworks and mindsets. I propose that instead we call this exchange, “playing the game of ideas.”
Before I really dive into why, let me make the superficial case that calling the study of some subject a Game is just good branding. It just sounds more appealing than Mindset or Framework with very similar applications.
Try it for yourself, pick any random topic you’re interested in and compare the options:
___ Mindset/Framework vs The Game of ___
Mentally Tough Mindset OR The Game of Mental Toughness
Stockpicker Frameworks OR The Game of Stockpicking
Haute Cuisine Mindset OR The Game of Haute Cuisine
Spiritual Fitness Frameworks OR The Game of Spiritual Fitness (Admittedly, the alliteration on Fitness Frameworks is nice, but I’d still rather play the Game of Spiritual Fitness.)
“Something” mindset sounds like a listicle of productivity tips that would come in a pdf at the end of a webinar. “Something” framework sounds like a step-by-step algorithm you’d read about in a Twitter thread. Using a framework or mindset is following someone else. It is fixed. It is operating from a scarcity mindset.
Talking about “the game of ____” is playful yet implies someone knows what they’re doing. They’ve played the game before: wins, losses, glory, injuries—all of it. You get in the game. You play the game. You’re a student of the game. It is open-ended. It is operating from a position of abundance.
Is game the most serious term? No, but rather than prevent us from taking the Game of Ideas as seriously as we should, I think the levity of calling it a game will keep it fun and exploratory, flexible and adaptive. It will keep us from degenerating into being dour and doctrinaire.
People always talk about how we need to instill a love of learning in children but when talking about adult learners it’s all about duty or career advancement. Why does it have to be that way? Enough study. Enough learning. Enough transactions. No more mindset or frameworks. Let’s play the game of ideas.
Nice. I love thinking about games. I think the metaphor about snapchat filters vs. photos was great. How does it extend into the part about games? I felt the last section was pretty abstract, though I agreed with you. What does it actually feel like to play one of these games vs. having the mindset.
I'd love if you actually linked some of the biggest twitter threads on the mindset/framework topic, rather than having to investigate it on my own.
Also, I'm dying to learn what the book was that you enjoyed so much. Could you share some of the best moments of the book?