Do the Opposite
If every instinct has failed you, the untried move is the opposite of your instinct.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 82%
Borrowed from a Seinfeld episode, Kenny's advice is that when you feel stuck or trapped, the most useful move is to try the opposite of what you've been doing — whether that's a habit, mindset, standard, or boundary. In the show, George reasons that since every instinct he's ever had was wrong, doing the opposite is worth a shot; he introduces himself to a woman with radical honesty about being unemployed and living with his parents, and it works. Kenny applied this in his own sales days, forcing himself to be the opposite of his introverted self until fake-it-till-you-make-it molded him into that person. The prescription is to dip your toe into the water of opposites and see what it brings.
Origin
Kenny, a self-described Seinfeld fan, drew the principle from the episode where George does the opposite of all his failing instincts, and mapped it onto his own reinventions in sales, relationships, and entrepreneurship.
Core principles
- 01When you feel stuck, ambiguous, or trapped, try the opposite of what you've been doing.
- 02The target can be a habit, routine, mindset, standard, or boundary.
- 03It is not about going back to zero — it's about throwing something different at the wall.
- 04Acting opposite to who you are can mold you into who you want to become.
How to run it
- 1
Name your default
When stuck, identify the habitual response, mindset, or boundary you keep defaulting to that isn't working.
- 2
Choose the opposite
Deliberately do the opposite of that default, as George does when he honestly introduces himself instead of playing smooth.
Pro tip You're not resetting to zero — just throwing something different at the wall.
- 3
Dip your toe and observe
Test the opposite approach in a small way and watch what it brings before committing further.
Pro tip Repeatedly acting opposite to who you are can mold you into who you want to become.
In the wild
George decides that since every choice he's made has been wrong, he'll do the opposite and honestly tells a woman he's unemployed and lives with his parents.
→ She responds warmly and they hit it off, illustrating the payoff of reversing a failing instinct.
Common mistakes
Repeating the failing instinct
Staying stuck means continuing the same habitual choices that have consistently produced bad results instead of testing their opposite.
Mistaking it for starting over
Treating 'do the opposite' as going back to zero misses the point — it's about trying one different move, not scrapping everything.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone feeling trapped whose usual approach keeps failing.
Not ideal for
Situations where the current approach is actually working and just needs patience.
From the transcript
“The best thing you could do is just try the opposite of what you've been doing.”
“If every choice you've ever made to date has been wrong then what would happen if you did the opposite of that.”
From the episode
Case Kenny: Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs, How to Gain Clarity and Make Smarter Decisions
Case Kenny