Reverse Engineering To The Mountain Top

Mountains are lofty landscapes that invoke the feeling of fear and reverence(awe) in us. Because on a time scale, they've been around for a long time, giving them the privilege of seeing and experiencing a lot. The fear comes from our seemingly minute size when compared to a mountain.

Climbing a mountain is always a daunting task as it requires going beyond many default limitations, especially the mental ones.

Realistically, I've never climbed any mountain. I've never even seen one yet. The area I live is more of a low land, the highest I've been to is at the top of a hill.

But it is definitely a life goal of mine to climb a mountain. I'm guessing the first realisation I'll get while on the top will be how small of a perspective I've viewed the world. Ever climbed to the top of a mountain?

Figuratively, I've climbed some mountains. We all have. Life's challenges will often require for us to break our own perceived limits to keep moving forward. These challenges can be as daunting as climbing a mountain. But they are definitely not unachievable.

Although, there is an individual uniqueness to every challenge. Someone has already experienced the same or a similar challenge and overcame it.

Through reverse engineering, we could learn to replicate the system the said person used into our own individual challenge. This makes the task less daunting, giving us a road map of the way to the mountain top.

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The Journey

Anything can seem impossible until someone achieves it. This was the case with the 4 minute mile run when experts said it was unachievable prior to 1954. When Roger Bannister achieved it, the 4 minute mile run stopped being impossible.

Not only did athletes believe that it is possible, but they also studied how and what it takes to achieve it from Roger Bannister's success.

Reverse engineering involves;

1. Breaking down a system to its core components
2. To analyze and better understand each of the moving parts that makes up the whole.

It sounds scientific but there's also an art to it. Breaking down a system to its core components can reveal interesting flaws or inadequacies of the system.

This could be a great starting point when creating your own system as you will be able to avoid those flaws and build a much better system.

Let's say I take on the challenge of becoming a great writer and be at the top of the legendary writers mountain.

There are many great writers out there. I'll pick a couple on those that I resonate with and study and analyze every aspect of their writings. The structure, vocabulary, style, argument etc.

During the process, I may discover that writer B used to create weak arguments or had a rough writing style. And these are the steps he/she took to overcome them.

Right from the start of my journey to a great writer, I will be able to avoid the problems mentioned above since I will be aware of them and have already created a system to solve them.

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This is one of the advantages of reverse engineering. It saves one time and effort through avoiding many of the known pitfalls along the way. Just like having a mentor, it makes the journey faster.

Now, there are people who see reverse engineering as cheating in a sense that one is copying another person's work.

Depending on the context this can be true. Businesses do it all the time (Facebook is at the top of the list). But it is unfounded when it comes to individual achievement.

Copying another person's work never guarantees that it is going to work for you. We all have our own unique paths. And if it ends up working, you will be walking on another person's shoe leaving your own behind.

Apparently, one will be at the top of the mountain but in reality one is still not yet at the top of the mountain.

Reverse engineering isn't about copying another person's work. It is simply a way to create a map to tackle a particular challenge based on those who've already tackled that challenge and overcame it. And a map is only a guide.

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The End

​If one has succeeded in reverse engineering his/her way to reach the mountain top and overcome a particular challenge.

Then one will come to understand that challenges are unending. There's always another mountain ahead, followed by another one and another one.

However, let this not be a reason for despair. With more challenges, we develop a thicker skin while also refining our systems for tackling them.

Eventually, we understand the essence of challenges making it a simple thing to solve a challenge.


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