Approach to technology - system and tool

When does a system cease to be a tool?

When the system is first built, it is usually created to help. To reduce the load, to organize the confusion, to automate the repetition. Let him work so that you can think. Let him remind you so that you can decide.

That is, the system at the beginning is a tool.
It's your extension. It is a continuation of your intention.

But there is a point. It is silent. Not sharp. And many people miss it. It is at this point that the system ceases to be a tool.

The system changes when you stop looking at it and making decisions.
you you can't make a decision without looking at it.

This is a subtle difference. But here is the whole story.

The system ceases to be a tool when you make it absolute reference point you do First you were just checking. Then you started waiting for confirmation. After some time, you came to the point "if the system doesn't say, I shouldn't do it".

The problem here is not in the system. The problem is that you have slowly lost your inner compass.

When the system remains a tool, you question it.
When you are the judge, he asks you questions.

And often these questions are not felt. They are metrics, rules, norms. "Why is that?" not "why is it measured this way?" if the question is not even asked, the system already controls you.

A system ceases to be a tool when it he starts to protect himself. The goal is no longer to get the job done, but to keep the system running. Reports are increasing. Procedures multiply. The rules become stricter. And all this is done in the name of "efficiency".

People start working for the system.
The system is not for humans.

At this stage, the proposal for change seems dangerous. Because change puts the system at risk. And the system does not like risk. He likes stability. Even if this stability is occlusion.

The system ceases to be a tool when you become its tool not that it bothers you, but that it makes you comfortable you take the basis. If it's comfortable, then it's true. If it's fast, it's right. If it resists, then it's worth it.

But comfort is not always health.

Convenient systems force you to think less. A person who thinks little does a lot. This also strengthens the system. After a cycle, it becomes difficult to tell who is working for whom.

There is also such a stage: the system identity begins to give.

Are you already asking "who am I?" you ask your question not to yourself, but to the system. From the numbers. From Status. From his role. From performance. "How old am I?" the answer to your question is not you, it is the dashboard.

At this point, the system is not just a tool.
He is your mirror.
And it is very difficult to break a mirror.

A system ceases to be a tool when you no longer have it you can't ask questions. If the moment you ask a question, "this is the reality", "there is no other way", "the times demand it", then you know that the system has already been sanctified.

What is holy is not changed.
It's just protected.

Perhaps the most critical moment is this: the system ceases to be an instrument when doesn't let it slow you down. Stopping is a risk. Thinking seems like a waste of time. Everything is connected to the "now".

However, the system that is the tool can slow you down.
The ruling system forces you to run away.

But how do you understand that?

There is a very simple test:
If you turn off the system for a day, if you can still make a decision — that's a tool.
If you are confused - he already controls you.

It's not scary. But it is a warning.

Because systems can change.
It can be redesigned.
It can be simplified.

But when a person fully surrenders his thought to the system, it takes time to get it back.

Perhaps the healthiest position at this time is:
use the system
but to him to disobey.

The system should help you.
It shouldn't replace you.

And if you're still asking this question -
therefore, the system has not yet completely won.

The first part