I was out walking in a small Malaysian town this morning when I came across a set of power lines engulfed by mango trees.
The wires disappeared among the fruit, leaves, and branches; making them inaccessible and dangerous to maintain.
An annual tree trimming would’ve made managing the power lines easier, but it’s now a complex job just to untangle the mess.
Every system declines into chaos if left unattended for long enough; this is known as entropy.
Software breaks, friendships grow stale, plants wither, knowledge is lost, and companies become complacent.
Once we’re aware of entropy, we start seeing it everywhere.
It’s our responsibility, then, to decide what’s important to us, and work conscientiously to prevent entropy’s impact in our workplaces, relationships, and bodies.