Y = f(x) or How One Equation Explains it All

Every now and then, if you’re paying attention at just the right moment, you can catch lightning in a bottle. You stumble across That Song, That Book, That Thing that helps you make sense of the past week, year or even decade.

During the past few months, I’ve been lucky to remember some of those lightning bolts from my youth. And then I discovered another, sitting in Six Sigma Black Belt training.

y = f (x)

(By the way, I’m well aware there are two groups of people out there. My math-inclined friends who just settled into their cup of coffee, thinking “Go on”. And my non-math-inclined friends who just rolled their eyes at the screen.)

Yep. Good ol’, simple ol’ y = f(x). It’s a pretty critical equation, yet can be broken down in plain English to mean your output is a function of your input. But this isn’t just numbers you can graph to see if your process is out of control.

Or maybe it is.

Not sleeping how you should? 

5 hours sleep = (too much caffeine)*(toddler mayhem)*(work stress)*(new Netflix addiction)

Feeling oogy?

Jeans don’t fit = (pumpkin spice habit)*(missed workouts)*(no sleep)*(easier to order in)

Stressed at work?

Stacked Calendar = (meetings)*(projects)*(deadlines)*(group chats)*(blue chips)*(homework)

Hungover?

Ouch = (good friends)*(tasty beverages)*(football)*(“wait until you hear this ..”)

Tell me I’m wrong. 

Exactly.

For years I worked in the weight loss industry, and we all got caught up in the emotions of the journey. We said we understood the math - calories in versus calories out - but what we were really doing was attaching feelings and judgments to those calories and, insert ominous music here, to ourselves. 

What we could have been doing was really understanding the equation.

During my years in television, we were using y = f(x) without knowing it. Behind every perfect Emmy-winning news broadcast was a specifically crafted script, with strategic timing to the second, plus the right on-air talent, plus editors and videographers that produced brilliant work on tight deadlines.

Even during the years of my side hustle bakery, our favorite equation showed up. After all, baking is just super tasty chemistry times a little bit of imagination.

Here’s the thing about y = f(x); it’s accountability, minus the blame or judgment. Honestly, when you get down to the core of why I’m drawn to the methodology, it’s about fixing problems. Getting into the weeds to figure out if something’s broken, and then figuring how best to fix it. And not what’s best for me to fix it - but for the client. It’s customized yet consistent all in one.

It’s the same reason the study of Astrology makes sense to my brain. We’re the unique whole piece of all of our unique parts. 

As in most of the rest of life, there’s beauty in simplicity. And that same simplicity helps easily bring you back to center. Most days.

Now, just to explain it to my ten-year-old, who gets mad when she gets in trouble for something she did or didn’t do. Wish me luck.

Originally written in 2019. Revised 2024.