No. 128 · Work · Chemistry
Activation Energy
Good things often fail to happen not because they are hard, but because starting is.
In the Almanac
“The Erie Canal”, 1817–1825 · “Klarna”, 2005
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
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What is Activation Energy?
Activation energy is the minimum energy needed to start a chemical reaction. As a mental model, it explains why people delay worthwhile changes: the barrier is at the start, not the finish. The Erie Canal and Klarna both succeeded by lowering that first hump.
How do you use Activation Energy?
Use it to shrink first steps at work, automate savings, and prepare your exercise kit the night before. You can also raise barriers to habits you want to avoid. Be careful, though: some friction protects you from rash decisions.
When does Activation Energy matter?
Activation Energy is one of the 43 mental models for work, the situations where you ask: How do I get the right things done? Within that, it belongs to “Getting started and keeping going”, alongside Catalysts, Compounding Effect and Conditioning.
What is an example of Activation Energy?
Two stories show it at work: The Erie Canal (1817–1825) and Klarna (2005). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Activation Energy?
Catalysts, Inertia and Forcing Function. Activation Energy itself comes from chemistry.