Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act: You vs. Yourself
How the game of Chess helps train my mind to make incremental decisions and act using the Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loop
I learned this the hard way when I recently picked up Chess as a hobby. It started with the goal of being part of a social group within a chess meetup, but then my interest was captured by it. Also, being a beginner amongst more seasoned players, I lost most of the games. Despite this, I kept going because I realized that whether I lose or win a game (Mostly lose), it is an opportunity for self-improvement: to train my mind to practice the OODA loop (Observe Orient Decide Act).
The OODA loop was developed in the 1950s by Colonel John Boyd, a fighter pilot in the US Air Force. He observed that successful pilots would make quick and incremental decisions in dog fights. This understanding led him to develop the OODA loop for combat. In this fast-paced modern world filled with uncertainty, the top opponent is within ourselves: habits and tendencies that hinder our progress, pull us into our comfort zone and break our self-discipline. From personal experience …
maintaining self-discipline is like playing a game of Chess with oneself
The tendency to go towards the comfort zone is so influential and Machiavellian that I need to constantly watch out for its sneaky plots for overthrowing me as a person in charge of being self-disciplined.
The OODA Loop
Here, I will describe the OODA loop, how we can train our minds to think in a structured fashion using the game of Chess, and how it applies to dealing with the enemy within. The OODA loop consists of 4 steps that help us use situational awareness to make incremental progress in the face of uncertainty.
[1] Observe
As the name suggests, it involves keeping our eyes and ears open, observing the situation, and collecting information. This makes us aware of all the problems that we need to solve. Next, we prioritize the problem to solve to meet our goals.
Chess trains our mind to observe the current state of ours and the opponent’s pieces and extrapolate several moves in advance. This is analogous to becoming more self-aware to predict how we react to various situations. The ability for constructive action now is determined by our past decisions. For example, sometimes I end up binge-watching due to my failure to foresee that exhaustion will make it hard to break binge behavior.
Each chess piece moves in specific ways and can work together to create a more formidable attack or defense. Similarly, the enemy within is habitual, and habits can support each other to create a formidable obstacle to overcome. Therefore, it is essential not to underestimate the opponent and always be alert and aware but calm.
[2] Orient
Now, within the context of the selected problem and the awareness of our and opponents’ situation from the previous step, we need to lay out our options to address the problem, focusing on what we can control.
In Chess, there are many options to attack and defend. It’s about identifying opponents’ weaknesses that we can attack and defending ourselves.
Similarly, there are several ways to get rid of bad habits. For example, the Achilles heel of breaking the snoozing habit when waking up is to keep the alarm out of reach so that we need to start physically moving just to shut the alarm. Physical activity in the morning helps increase adrenaline helping us to wake up.
[3] Decide
Here, we prioritize and commit to a course of action from the previous step using all the understanding we gained from the above two steps.
In Chess, we need to focus on the course of moves necessary to exploit opponents’ weaknesses by proceeding with a specific set of moves. Similarly, when dealing with our regressive tendencies, we must commit to a course of action that we have strategized in the previous steps. For example, if we decide on doing something and add it to our to-do list, and regard it as a commitment to ourselves, then procrastination becomes unlikely.
[4] Act
Finally, we act to gain more information for the next iteration. In Chess, we must move within the time limit if we are playing a timed game or risk losing because of running out of time. Therefore, there is pressure to make a move.
In contrast, in real life, we may be hesitant to act. This is essential because, without action, all previous steps are meaningless. Action enables us to interact with the enemy within and test our assumptions about what works. It is an opportunity to know our strengths and weaknesses and how we react. The real-world experience gained adds to the subsequent iteration of the OODA loop to make better decisions and take effective action.
Final Thoughts
Despite consistently losing so many games, training my mind for the OODA loop is one of the purposes that brings me back to the chess board. Moreover, unlike seasoned players, I think slowly going through the above OODA steps. Fortunately, my opponents are patient and don’t get annoyed when I take longer. Moreover, with practice, my game is also improving and I am getting closer to integrating the OODA loop in other aspects of my life.
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