Engineering

What is Engineering?

Engineering is not just cold machinery. An Engineer doesn't need to know Thermodynamics or Material Sciences, or even have an Engineering degree. An Engineer, to me, is anyone who uses a thorough, structured approach to problem solving. This is anybody who applies their creativity and knowledge to find optimal solutions.

What’s your problem?

Life is suffering. 

We struggle through life's burdens to grasp fleeting moments of joy. It’s easy to become stressed with responsibilities of school, work, and personal life. We learn to accept these burdens, but can become overwhelming. 

We accept these struggles as adult life, but oftentimes it’s because we’re taking the wrong approach: Is it not about solving every problem, but the right problem.

The Big Boss

We can view ourselves as the CEO of our own lives. This means we're responsible for managing our personal resources (time and energy) to fulfill our mission statement. 

A production line’s goal is to produce as many high-quality products as possible. It is a complicated process with many variables, and anything could go wrong to disrupt productivity. Engineers have developed tools and strategies to optimize these complex systems. 

The two golden pillars of manufacturing engineering are:

  1. Six Sigma: Maximize quality
  2. Lean: Minimize waste

Companies use these mindsets to maximize the value of resources: Time, Energy, & Money. We have identical limitations as individuals, thus these methodologies can be applied to our own lives to pursue our goals. 

Conclusion 

Self-help books focus on these concepts. These books aren't tools or assistants that provide tangible help; they are intended to empower individuals with the internal agency to have more control over their life. 

As individuals we don't have full control over our environment, relations, or life situation.
Self-help books instruct not to worry about things outside of our control. It's just inefficient to waste energy on things that don't matter.

We only have full control over our own actions, and how we let the world affect us. With practice, we can learn these Engineering strategies for our own benefit. These methodologies can help us find root cause, and the solutions to make our lives a bit better to live.

 


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