We have all heard it said about casinos and games of chance that "the house always wins" or "the system always wins."
Those of you who have read my previous articles will know that I see man as a being who, willingly or unwillingly, keeps going round and round in the systems (or cycles) that he sets up.
So if human beings are always in a system, why doesn't this system always work in our favor?
Or let me ask the question backwards:
Could it be that the reason we keep making the same mistakes over and over again is because the system is actually winning?
Maybe the issue is that we unknowingly design the system in a way that makes us lose.
If I have confused things enough, I can now make my point.
In this article, we will examine together what we can gain if we consciously handle the systems that shape our lives and habits, centering on the system thinking and learning from mistakes approach that we often use in software processes.
Because most of the time the problem is not "lack of willpower" or "not wanting it enough"; it is the invisible systems that lead us to the same result over and over again.(11*)
And as long as we don't recognize these systems, no matter how much we intend to do so, the result will often not change.
This is where a perspective from the world of software comes in.
Software developers don't try to solve big, complex problems all at once.
They take the system apart, try it over and over, learn from mistakes, and improve it a little more with each iteration.
Maybe the way to live life better is to rethink the system we live in, instead of thinking we are "broken".
Let's take a closer look at these small but powerful rituals that software developers practice every day...
And discover their relevance in life together.
Philosophical and Scientific Background
Philosophical perspective
We often describe human beings as "beings with a will". If he wants to do something, he does it, if not, he doesn't... As if it were just a matter of making a decision.
But philosophy speaks from a cooler place.
For example, Aristotle explains human character not in terms of singular decisions, but in terms of repetitive actions. (1*)
According to him, character is not the result of heroic decisions made in an instant; it is the sum of what we do every day, often without even realizing it.
In other words, a person becomes "the kind of person" not because he chooses the right thing once, but because he repeats the same behavior over and over again.
This point of view implies that what determines our lives are not bursts of will, but habitual patterns.
Spinoza takes the matter a step further back.
There is always a reason behind a behavior.
But this reason is often not what we think we "freely choose".
The real thing that causes behavior is the conditions that make that behavior possible.(2*)
Spinoza says:
When man does not understand why he acts the way he does, he thinks he is free; but when he sees the reasons, he realizes that he is actually acting in an order.
In other words, behavior depends on the cause, and the cause depends on the conditions that make that cause possible...
Simply saying "I must be stronger" without realizing this chain is like leaving the system that produces the same result as it is and expecting a different result.
The conclusion is a bit disturbing but very instructive:
Most of the time, man lives not by his will, but by the order in which he lives. (11*)
And if this order is not recognized, the same thoughts, the same reactions, the same results will appear again and again, on different days, with different names.
Therefore, change does not begin by saying "I will force myself", but by seeing and rearranging the system that gives rise to behavior.
This is where software development, one of the most systematic fields of learning in the modern world, shows us a surprisingly familiar path.
What philosophy says at this point is actually quite clear: It is not singular intentions that change people, but repetitive patterns.
But here the question arises:
If it is indeed patterns that determine our behavior, do we also see this in our bodies and brains?
I mean, is this just an intellectual interpretation, or does the same system work biologically?
Science gives a very calm but powerful answer to this question.
The brain is not a structure that likes to make individual decisions.
On the contrary, it likes patterns, habits and repetition.
Because anything that repeats means less energy for the brain. (6*)
When we do a behavior for the first time, the brain expends a lot of effort.
But as the same behavior is repeated, this burden gradually becomes automatic.
It becomes done without thinking.
After a while, it's as if "we" are not doing it; the behavior is self-generating.
Neuroscience explains it this way:
The brain thickens the pathways that are used frequently and prunes the ones that are rarely used. (8*)
In other words, we build our own neural pathways inside ourselves every day without realizing it.
This turns the concept of "order" we talk about in philosophy into a physical reality.
No longer is it just a matter of "what we want"; it is a matter of what behaviors we repeat, under what conditions, and how often.
Will is a small part of this system.
But the real power that carries the system is the repetitive neural circuits and habitual cycles.
This is why people who start with the same intention over and over again and get stuck at the same point get the same result, not because they are weak, but because they are operating the same system.
Science here points to the same place as philosophy:
If we want to change the result, we have to address the order, not the intention.
And this is where we come to a subject that takes us to the deepest mechanics of behavior: how habits, decisions and learning work in the brain.
The Scientific Approach
The Habit Cycle, Dopamine and the Automated Mind
The brain is not as libertarian as we think.
On the contrary, it is programmed to take the shortest possible route with the least amount of energy.
This is why one of the brain's favorite things to do is habit.
Neuroscience calls this the habit-loop, or behavior loop. (4*) The way it works is:
The brain receives a cue, responds to it with a behavior and expects a reward as a result.
And if the brain receives the reward, it records:
"That worked. Let's do it again."
Behaviors that were conscious at first become automatic as this cycle repeats.
We no longer think, we no longer make decisions.
The system runs itself.
This is where dopamine comes in.
Dopamine is not just "happiness" chemistry.
its main task is:
"Do this behavior again."(9*)
Even a small relief, a brief pleasure, a temporary escape is enough to produce dopamine.
This is why even behaviors that sometimes sabotage us are registered in the brain's eye as "solutions that work".
And they are practiced over and over again.
But the critical point starts here.
If there is no clear system in our lives, the brain has to ask the same questions over and over again every day:
What should I do?
Where should I start?
Which is more important?
This leads to decision fatigue.
Decision fatigue is this:
The brain's will center (prefrontal cortex) is gradually depleted throughout the day. (7*)
The more uncertainty, the more choices, the more "let me think about it", the faster willpower collapses.
And what happens when willpower collapses?
The brain goes back to the most familiar path.
The easiest.
The oldest habit.
In other words, if there is no system, habit wins.
This is why people often experience this:
Starting the morning with a strong intention.
In the evening, they return to the same cycle.
This is not a character problem, but a system problem.
⸻
Science speaks very clearly here:
Will is limited.
But systems are resilient. (7*)
Will is momentary.
But habit cycles are permanent.
If we want to change our behavior, it is not enough to tell ourselves to "be stronger."
We need to see the cycle.
We need to recognize the clue.
We need to redesign the reward.
So the point is this:
It is not individual decisions that govern human beings, but a chain of repetitions without decisions.
And the way to break this chain is not to force the will;but to build a smarter system.
Real Problems and Solutions
The Real Problem
The Myth of Will and the Invisible System
One of our biggest misconceptions about life is the idea that "if I wanted more I could do it".
We blame everything we can't do on ourself.
Willpower.
Discipline.
Character.
One of the most common perceptions in modern times is that willpower will solve everything.
But in real life, it doesn't really solve everything.
Because willpower is not an unlimited power as we think. It is an instantaneous, fragile and context-dependent resource.
And we often miss the point:
When will fails, the problem is often not the person, but the system.
Let's put it this way:
We are in the same environment every day.
We are triggered by the same triggers.
We drift in the same flow.
We keep getting the same rewards.
But you expect yourself to "act differently" every day.
This is like running the same bug over and over again in a poorly designed software and wondering "why did this application crash again?"
There is good intention.
There is desire.
There is even awareness.
But the system is still the same.
And in a bad system,even good intentions are useless in the long run.
We are so insistent on our willpower that we constantly blame ourselves instead of questioning the system. We target our personality, not our behavior. Instead of saying, "What did I do wrong?" we say, "There is something wrong with me."
This creates a second cycle:
Blame leads to demotivation, demotivation leads to escape, escape leads to the same habit, thinking it is a reward. We go round and round in the same cycle.
In other words, the system is not only malfunctioning, it is also protecting itself.
The real problem lies in this:
We think our behaviors are individual decisions.
But they are the output of an already established order. (10*)
Bad systems tire even good people. (11*)
Bad systems erode even the strongest of intentions over time.
And the system always wins.
The real question now is not "Why am I like this?",
"What am I living in?"
Because what governs life is not how many times we push ourselves, but how many times we get into the same cycle.
And without changing that cycle, the result will not change.
Solution Suggestions
Not to Force the Will, but to Establish the Right System
If the problem is not willpower, the solution is not more willpower.
The solution starts here:
Dismantle the system that makes the right behavior difficult and establish a system that makes the right behavior easy.
Human beings do what is easiest. (5*)
This is not a weakness; it is a biological fact.
Therefore, the first thing to do is:
Not to try to fix the behavior, but to redesign the infrastructure that produces the behavior. (3*)
Making the Right Behavior Easy
We get stuck not because we behave wrongly, but because the right behavior is unnecessarily difficult.
If a behavior, a habit that exhausts us, makes us sad, lonely, makes us feel bad, if it repeats, the system may have normalized it because it is part of the system and it has become a cycle, so it repeats over and over again. But the bad feeling continues. So if we pay attention to the moments when we feel bad, like a hook, we can find out which behavior or habit is causing it.
What we need to do after we find it can be challenging, let it be. We now know that if we look not at "how do I do this?" but "what would make it easier for me to do this?" we can transform that behavior.
Removing Obstacles
Most of the time the reason we can't move forward is not lack of motivation;it's the abundance of redundancy.
Too many options, too many decisions, too many distractions...
As the system swells, the mind freezes.
Sometimes you need to delete, not add.
Not to gain a habit, but to remove what makes it difficult to do.
Making Small Gains Visible
For a while I saw clearly:
I was making progress but I didn't notice it.
And unnoticed progress is considered to be unrealized in the mind.
When small gains are not visible, the brain says:
"So nothing is changing."
Therefore, it is necessary to build the system according to this:
Let the small steps be visible.
Let them be recorded.
Let them leave a mark.
As long as a person feels that he/she is progressing, he/she continues.
Micro Adjustments into a Ritual
Small adjustments, not big changes, are sustainable.
On a weekly basis, it's enough to ask:
"Where did I get stuck this week?"
"How can I make this one click easier?"
No need to rewrite life, no need to reinvent yourself.
Just make the system a little smarter.
Küçük Altyapı Değişiklikleri, Creates Big Transformations
Human beings change not by revolution, but by optimization.
One click less friction.
One click more clarity.
One click more visible progress.
And the system slowly starts working in our favor.
A Little Note from My Own Experience
The breaking point for me was this:
When that bad feeling happened, I started to feel even worse. When I felt bad, I became unbearable, and then I blamed it on my lack of willpower and got angry with myself, and I realized that it was becoming a cycle.
For a while I thought, "I'm a strong-willed person, if this happens, I'll act like this."
But when I got angry, all these sentences lost their meaning and I fell back into the same cycle.
When I realized that I couldn't continue with willpower, I stopped fighting with myself.
I changed the question.
Instead of saying, "Why can't I do it?"
I said,
"What makes it difficult for me to do this?".
And interestingly...
When I didn't try to save the will, I was able to continue.
When I set up the right system, the intention began to flow spontaneously.
Every time I got angry, I began to see and understand a trauma, an old miscommunication, a manifestation of a painful experience, and once I understood it all, I was able to resolve it.
It turned out that it wasn't about my character, it was about the system. It turns out that I have an established order, otherwise I wouldn't be there for a minute.
Conclusion and Message to the Reader
We have the weight of the world on our backs. While we try to stay happy in hundreds of behaviors and habits that cause us to be unhappy, we live in the systems created by these cycles without realizing it. When we fail, when we are unhappy, we blame ourselves, we blame our lack of willpower. But in fact, there is no such thing as willpower; we live in systems that we have either built ourselves or that we have unwittingly entered into.
In this article, I have tried to examine how we can give a healthier direction to our lives by thinking in a system-oriented way.
I hope that I have been able to create a little awareness on this subject.
Now it is your turn to ask:
Call to mind a habit that triggers you the most (makes you angry, sad, hurts you), (for example, laziness). When this feeling is triggered, you now know that a system is causing it, but what if you could make a change in that system that would not give you this feeling?
In the next post I will discuss how errors provide data to the system and the "learning system" approach. (12*)
Till then, stay with the system and stay in love.
Sources
- Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics
- Spinoza - Ethics
- James Clear - Atomic Habits
- Charles Duhigg - The Power of Habit
- Wendy Wood - Good Habits, Bad Habits
- Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow
- Roy Baumeister & John Tierney - Willpower
- Robert Sapolsky - Behave
- Wolfram Schultz - "Dopamine Reward Prediction Error"
- Stanovich & West - "Individual Differences in Reasoning"
- Donella Meadows - Thinking in Systems
- Karl Popper - Conjectures and Refutations
