1st January 2026
Happy New Year, first of all. I was trying to make plans for 2026, and I was wondering — how exactly should we do — in order to maximize our results? Plans are essential for our lives, specifically for achieving our goals. Some people think I am an anarchist — I am not. I feel skeptical about the authoritarian style of governing, not just in governments, but also in how we organize our day-to-day lives; most people agree with me. Yet the completely “anarchist” way of governing(they don’t govern) has nothing better than that.
The 2nd law of thermodynamics states that “entropy” can only stay the same or increase in an isolated system. Sounds abstract, forget about math or whatever the hack you used to believe what physics is, think instead in terms of how many ways a system can be arranged.
A high-entropy state has many possible arrangements.
A low-entropy state has very few possible arrangements.
Entropy is simply a measure that counts the number of microscopic arrangements that yield the same visible situation.
Think of your own home. A room without cleaning inevitably leads to a mess; a restroom inevitably leads to filth. Why? Because there are infinite ways for a room to be messy (high entropy), but very few ways for it to be perfectly clean (low entropy).
An “anarchist” lifestyle — living without plans or rules — will inevitably lead to this chaos. Just like that uncleaned room, life naturally drifts toward disorder. This is why you need plans. To achieve a goal — whether in society, economics, businesses, or just personal life — you must input energy to reduce that entropy. Certain regulations are not just essential; they are necessary to keep the system from falling apart.
So, I am, de facto, a minarchist. In government, a minarchist believes in the minimum state necessary to preserve liberty. Same thing, in goal setting, I believe in the minimum structure necessary to preserve order.
If you are an authoritarian to yourself, you might as well vote for the dictators. But I am not mad at that pathetic fact, nor will I blame you. You waste energy maintaining the structure rather than doing the work. On the other hand, if you are too anarchic, you drown in chaos.
So, how should you set up a plan for 2026?
It must be specific, and it must be sustainable. You need a plan, not just to live like an animal reacting to impulses, but to regulate yourself with intent. An optimal plan is a minimum structure that maximizes the probability of acceptable outcomes. You can use minimal energy to achieve exactly what you want, provided you apply that energy to the right pressure points. Don’t build a prison for yourself; build a framework. Minimize the chaos, minimize the wasted spending of energy, and maintain the highest possibility of a positive outcome.