# Self-help, hard and soft

**Summary**: _Four types of trying to be better._

**Confidence**: _90% that this beats the 0-D or 1-D idea. 50% that this is the best phrasing or 2D projection._


I get annoyed when I click a post and find that it's not [a list of things](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PX7AdEkpuChKqrNoj/what-are-your-greatest-one-shot-life-improvements) to try, or [a cool tool](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Z5wF8mdonsM2AuGgt/negative-feedback-and-simulacra) for reasoning or deciding. But I don't endorse this annoyance, and I try to be less narrow.

The following may be helpful if you're like me, and want to understand what people are doing and so circumvent annoyance. (I think it beats "rationality" vs "post-rationality" because it drops the incipient in-group/out-group stuff and focusses on what people are actually doing.)

I began with a vague 1D idea: that there's "hard self-help" (actionable, crisp, objective) and soft self-help (contemplative, vague, subjective). This is really not useful without using two dimensions, though:


|             | External  | Internal   |
|-------------|-----------|------------|
| **Legible** | Lifehacks | Techniques |
| **Illegible**   | Attempts  | Seeking    |

**Examples**:

|             | External  |  Internal   |
|-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **L** | supplements, exercise,  [Things I Use](https://www.gleech.org/stuff), Quantified Self,  checklists, Anki, [time management](https://hiverhq.com/blog/productivity-approaches-gtd-pomodoro-and-more), [Algos to Live By](https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/brian-christian-algorithms-to-live-by/)     | [Models](https://fs.blog/mental-models/), [CBT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy),  bug lists, [IDC](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mQmx4kQQtHeBip9ZC/internal-double-crux),  [Focussing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focusing), this 2x2 |
| **I**   | brainstorming, [CoZe](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/c5wFM7KJLtuMnLFsH/hammertime-day-5-comfort-zone-expansion), [Oblique Strategies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies), '[Actually Try](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WLJwTJ7uGPA5Qphbp/trying-to-try)', '[Dive In](http://mindingourway.com/dive-in/)', [going with your gut](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ximou2kyQorm6MPjX/rest-days-vs-recovery-days) | Art, stream entry,  Kōans, aphorism, [Replacing Guilt](http://mindingourway.com/guilt/)  |


### Notes

- This abstraction clearly strains to cover its large, wild, continuous domain. 
- The top axis covers a few things. It could be "Environment optimisation vs Inner alignment", or "Action vs Contemplation", or "Objective vs Subjective".
- My original name for the left axis was "Algorithm vs Heuristic".
- The idea of a "Rest Day" is an unambiguous algorithm: 1) Make no appointments; 2) Do what you want. But each instance is different and highly illegible. "_Why am I doing this? Because._" Outer loop is algo, the inner loop is heuristic.
- If it worked, [biofeedback](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofeedback) would be the exemplar of _legible-internal_.
- This is probably not the most significant difference beween rationality and post-rationality: that might be "[rationality realism](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/suxvE2ddnYMPJN9HD/realism-about-rationality) vs anti-realism".
- I have no idea where to put [Circling](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aFyWFwGWBsP5DZbHF/circling). It's right in the middle.



### Build your own typology

* _Particular vs General_: Is it targeting one bug or a raised 'waterline'? Object vs Meta level? Incremental or revolution? 
* _Objective vs Subjective_: Is the target your environment (including the body and habits) or your mind?
* _Action vs Contemplation_: Does the idea involve doing things besides thinking or introspection? 
* _Algorithmic vs Heuristic_: Is the idea a complete recipe or a general prompt?
* _Propositional vs Nonpropositional_: Is the target beliefs, skills, plans, or attitudes?
* _Cognitive vs Emotional_.
* _System 1 vs System 2_: Is the target implicit or explicit? 
* _Scientific or Rational evidence_: What reason is there to expect it to work?  
* _Some feedback or no feedback_: how easy is it to check if it works?

Improvements welcome.

_Thanks to Misha, Neel and Nandi for helpful comments_.