The physics of failure Why we fail in life and work

The physics of failure Why we fail in life and workThe physics of failure Why we fail in life and workOne day, in the 3rd Century BC, King Hiero II of Syracuse, Sicily, summoned Archimedes- a young, Greek physicist and mathematician, donning a long, flowing, white beard- to verify that his new crown was made of pure gold, or that some silver had been fraudulently substituted by the goldsmith.This wouldve been a simple task for Archimedes, but for the Kings one caveat the crown must not be damaged, or else there would be serious repercussions.For several weeks, Archimedes pondered upon possible solutions to the Kings crown problem, but he couldnt crack the code, and time was running out.One evening, as he was taking a bath, Archimedes noticed that the level of water in the tub would rise and overflow, as he lowered his body into it.Putting two and two together, Archimedes figured out that the amount of water overflowing from the bathtub corresponded to how much of his body was immerse d in the water.Shortly afterwards, Archimedes conducted a quick experiment to verify the authenticity of crown he tested whether the Kings crown would displace the saatkorn amount of water as a lump of pure gold of the same weight.Surprisingly, the experiment revealed that the Kings crown displaced far mora water than the lump of pure gold, proving that some silver had been mixed into it, and it was a counterfeit.Archimedes was so excited by his breakthrough discovery that he screamed Eureka and ran into the streets butt-naked.12His insights from this experiment would later be formalized asArchimedes principle- a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics- and today, aside from inventing the word Eureka Archimedes is regarded as the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time.In particular,Archimedes principlecontains useful analogies that could provide answers to an important questionWhy do we fail in life and work?Archimedes principle of failureFor t he sake of analogy, imagine that a ship is your life and the water the ship floats on is your environment i.e. the people, items and sounds in your surroundings.In this case, a ship that sinks would represent failure, whilst a ship that floats would represent stability and success in life.InOn Floating Bodies, Archimedes explains why some ships float and others sinkAny object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.In other words, for a ship to float on water, it needs to displace a weight of water that equals that of itself.If the ship displaces a weight of water less than that of itself, it will sink.This is because the buoyant (or upthrust) force exerted by the water would be less than the downward force of the ships weight.3The weight of the ship must be less than or equal to the buoyant force, for the ship to stay afloat. If the weight of the ship is greater than the buoyant force, the ship will sink.This law of physics, known as the Archimedes principle, can also be represented with this simple formula (which has been converted for the ship analogy example)Buoyant Force = (Density of water minus Density of ship) multiplied by acceleration due to gravity and volume of displaced water.4In simple terms, density is the amount of stuff in a given amount of space.The more stuff in an identical amount of space, the greater the density. And since liquids, like water, have a density, a ship with greater density than that of water will sink, and a ship with less will float.Now, lets toy around with the Archimedes principle to uncover the reasons for failure in life and work.Revised formulaSuccess = (How well your environment supports good habits minus the number of goals you pursue) multiplied by your capacity to take action.Based on this formula, there are three main causes of failure in life and work.A simplified interpretation of the Archimedes Principle for everyday life.1. Poor environmentThe things we can see, smell, taste, hear and touch in our environment, shape our behaviors in powerful ways we often cant see.For example, its much harder to stay focused and get important things done, if your mobile phone is within sight.Conversely, a working environmentfree from visible clutterand distractions would significantly boost productivity and reduce stress.As a rule of thumb, its much harder to stick to good habits over the long run, in a poorly designed environment.The people, items and voices that surround you on a daily basis will ultimately dictate your odds of failure or success in life.SolutionJust like water, different liquids have different densities. For example, salt water is more dense than fresh water, and since our body weight is less dense than that of water, its much easier for us to float in a salt lake like the Dead Sea, than in freshwater.5Likewise, we candesign our environmentto make it easier for us to stick to good habits over the long r un.The better designed our environment, the greater the likelihood that well stay consistent with our goals and achieve them in the process.2. Lack of focusJust like a ship that is too dense, we often pursue more goals than we can handle.We get excited to departure new goals, but after a little while, we lose focus and fail to finish what we start.As a result of this, over a span of months or years, we have little to show for our efforts.SolutionTo prevent a ship from sinking, naval architects remove inessential contents from the body of the ship, leaving it with space and air instead. This way the density of the ship remains less than that of water, keeping it afloat.In a similar fashion, the best way to avoid failure in life, is to ruthlessly eliminate the inessentials and focus on what matters most.There are a few powerful strategies to achieve thisThe 5 things to do method,The Ivy Lee Method,Warren Buffets 5/25 strategyandQuitting.By eliminating the inessentials and shifting our focus only towards the essential, we create the time and energy necessary to finish what we start on a consistent basis.3. Low energy (not enough capacity to take action)Capacity can be narrowed down to three things time, energy and competency.When we pursue a goal or task, without enough time, energy or competency to tackle it, were setting ourselves up for failure.A classic example of this problem is low energy levels caused by lack of sleep. After a few nights of little to no sleep, our ability to think, learn, remember and problem solve, drastically reduces to levels of incompetency.6SolutionOne of the best ways to maintain high energy levels throughout the day is to practiceZanshin, maintain aregular sleep scheduleand eat a balancedblue zones diet.If a task requires more time and competency than you have available, consider either increasing the deadline till completion, eliminating the task completely or reducing the amount of the task youd have to complete.Keep your head abo ve waterIn the same way there are multiple factors that cause a ship to sink in the middle of the ocean, there are a combination of forces that cause failure in life and work.Archimedes principle provides useful analogies that help us to unravel these hidden forces a poorly designed environment, lack of focus and low energy levels.Its the interaction of these hidden forces that ultimately shape our life and destiny.P.S.If you enjoyed this article, and would like to learn more about these hidden forces to avoid failure in your life, check outThe Art of Stress-Free Focus. Inside the seminar, youll get access to fresh ideas and strategies to conquer procrastination, eliminate distractions and focus on what matters most.Mayo Oshin writes atMayoOshin.Com, where he shares the best practical ideas based on proven science and the habits of highly successful people for stress-free productivity and improved mental performance. To get these strategies to stop procrastinating, get more things b y doing less and improve your focus,join his free weekly newsletter.A version of thisarticleoriginally appeared atmayooshin.comasThe Physics of Failure Why We Fail In Life and Work (and What to Do About It).Footnotes1st Century BC langerzhlung author and architect, Vitruvius records an account of the crown story in his book, De Architectura, Book IX. However, it doesnt appear in the writings of Archimedes.According to Greek historian, Plutarch, Archimedes was killed whilst the city of Syracuse was under siege by the Romans. Whilst solving for a solution to a mathematical problem, a Roman soldier commanded Archimedes to meet a Roman general, but Archimedes refused saying Do not disturb my circles, in reference to his mathematical drawings. The angered Roman soldier then slaughtered Archimedes with his sword.If youve ever tried to push a beach ball into a pool of water, youve experienced this buoyant force acting against your efforts.Please note that the explanation of the Archimedes principle in this piece is an oversimplification of the complex mechanics of the formula.In general, salt water weighs 2.5% more than the same volume of fresh water.Why We Sleep The New Science of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker.