Description

The ability to process reality, discern it, process it, and act in the world.

Sensory Input (observe)

Interpretation (orient)

Meaning-making

See Strategy Cycle and Sensemaking

Decision (decide)

Choice-making

See Strategy Cycle

Agency (act)

Ability to exert your will on the world and yourself.

Portfolio of actions available to you.

The efficiency with which you can project your will into the world. Does it take a lot of energy or a little energy to make an impact?

Are you able to deliver exactly what you want, or are there many unintended or undesirable side-effects?

Agency varies depending on the environment as well. If you’re outside your conditioned environment, you may find your agency decreased.

One should only act in one of two ways, either within your agency or acting to upgrade your agency to gain the capacity to assert your agency.

Being able to have agency over yourself is a massive force multiplier. Therefore you should probably dedicate most effort to building your ability to have agency over yourself and your close surroundings before you focus on asserting your agency in the wider world. Of course, this is a balance (see: Dialectical thinking (nonduality)).

Just like with OODA loops (see Strategy Cycle), agency functions on multiple time scales as small as a second to as large as multiple years.

Similar to Jordan Hall’s concept of self Sovereignty.

Examples