Basically, antifragile things are things that benefit from disorder, obstacles, unexpected events, change, etc.

The greatest leaps of progress for human beings throughout our history has been when we embrace the anti-fragility of a system. Anti-fragility is behind everything that has changed for the better through time, whether evolution, culture, or technological innovation.

My interest is in how I can consciously use these ideas in my life. I found out that there are three categories humans fall into when we think of anti-fragility.

• The vast majority of humans are fragile; any type of stress or hard time can cause them to fall apart like a house of cards.
• A smaller number of humans are resilient. They can feel the stress but not let it bother them. They overcome it and keep on continuing on the same path as before.
• However, a tiny percentage of humans are what you would call anti-fragile. They thrive in times of chaos and stress. They improve and grow better.

Look around you and see who has emerged from the Pandemic better than they entered it.

These people are anti-fragile.

While reading the book, I was trying to work out how I could apply the ideas to my life. A few points stuck out in my mind.

• Rehearse loss. And by that, I mean imagine what it would be like to lose everything you hold dear. Feel the emotion and familiarise yourself with it. Reproduce that real-life stress for a moment and picture how you would manage it successfully. Now go about your day knowing you can handle a lot of what life can throw at you. 
• Seek out Stress. Not all stress is the same. Some of the stress that we face in life can be more detrimental to our well-being. On the other hand, Eustress can be beneficial and is necessary for our overall well-being. This type of “positive” stress keeps us vital and excited about life. 
• Over Compensate. When you make a mistake or suffer an unsuspecting setback, respond in a way that will guarantee that you will return faster, stronger or smarter. Do much more than is required the next time you tackle the same problem.
• Keep your actions simple and to the point. The more complex they are, the more likely they are to fail. If you have a problem, a simple solution is always the best.
• Quickly identify what doesn’t work. Switch, change or discard them with strategies that do.

I know you can’t be anti-fragile in every area of your life. But in tough times, you need to remember the ideas and apply them. Your future self will thank you for your efforts. Some people will see you and call you resilient, but you know you are far more than that; your Anti-fragile.