The Great Optimization: The Death of Excitement
Efficiency & Spontaneity...
Coming off a hot week in markets, I’ve been thinking a lot about our relentless pursuit of efficiency, and how we’ve created a world where every action, every decision, is streamlined to perfection through recipes. From the way we invest our money to how we organize our daily routines, efficiency has become the gold standard—a measure of success and productivity. But as we smooth out the rough edges of life, we might also be erasing some of the very experiences that make life vibrant and worth living. While efficiency undoubtedly brings convenience, it also has a tendency to render life monotonous, predictable, and, at times, painfully dull.
Consider the rise of index funds—a poster child example of efficiency in action. These funds offer a straightforward, low-risk approach to investing, providing steady returns without the need for constant attention or deep decision-making. But this very efficiency doesn’t just strip away the excitement of picking individual stocks; it also discourages us from engaging in the critical thinking that comes with active investing—the long nights of reading about a mundane accounting rule on page 212, paragraph 3, to better understand the business. When we solely choose index funds, we opt for the safety of the herd, surrendering the need to analyze, strategize, or truly understand the market. The process becomes automatic, almost mindless, as we place our trust in the broad market rather than in our own ability to navigate its complexities and take bold risks in a controlled manner, live life without the know—and be okay with that. Strip away the anxiety of the intense need and craving of what society says we should know and do.
This pattern of efficiency extends far beyond the stock market. In our everyday lives, the pursuit of efficiency has led to routines that, while optimized for productivity, often lack variety and spontaneity. We’ve perfected the art of meal prepping, streamlined our exercise routines, and automated everything from bill payments to grocery shopping. These efficiencies save us time, but they also create a life where each day is a near-perfect replica of the last—where the mental engagement, the problem-solving, and the creativity required to tackle daily challenges are minimized, if not eliminated. We become participants in a well-oiled machine, operating on autopilot, rarely stopping to think or question the path we’re on.
Even our social interactions are not immune to the efficiency trap. Math now curates our news feeds, suggest our next Netflix binge, and even help us find partnerships (love). These tools are incredibly efficient, but they also narrow our experiences, exposing us only to what is deemed most relevant, most likely to engage. The result is a life where everything is tailored to our past behaviors and preferences, leaving little room for the unexpected joys of discovery and the excitement that comes from stepping outside our comfort zones. And as we rely on these algorithms, we also surrender the need to think critically about our choices—whether it’s questioning the news we consume or the relationships we pursue.
In a world optimized for efficiency, we must ask ourselves: is the trade-off worth it? Are we gaining time only to fill it with more of the same? As we continue to streamline our lives, we might be losing the very experiences that make life rich and fulfilling. Efficiency, while undeniably useful, has a tendency to drain not only the excitement out of life but also the mental engagement that keeps us sharp and connected to the world around us. In our quest to optimize, we might find that we’ve sacrificed more than just the thrill of unpredictability—we’ve given up the need to think.
Enjoy your weekend…the world only ends once and its probably not today.
Live in the now,
mickey