Solve for X and Avoid Decision Paralysis
A logical method for helping to make difficult choices in life and work.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all had our own red pill vs. blue pill situations.
They come in all shapes and sizes, but what ties them together is that they are always, at the moment, extremely difficult choices.
“Do I pay the rent or do I pay my tuition for the semester?” is objectively a much higher stakes decision to make than “Do I buy the Bruno Magli or the Allen Edmonds dress shoes?”, but depending on where you are at in life, both choices might be equally challenging.
That may sound ridiculous, but it’s true. The mind is a strange, adaptive, wonderful thing.
One of the best life hacks I’ve ever been taught, if it can even really be classified as such, is that I should never take longer than ten minutes to make a decision. Any decision.
If it’s a truly important, potentially life-altering choice, then the positives and negatives should be so obvious that a decision will come quickly as long as you let it. On top of that, if it’s so damn important it’s usually best to make the choice fast.
If it’s a minor choice, with low stakes, like where/what to eat, what to wear, what to drive, etc., there is absolutely no reason to waste time on it.
In either case, it can be very easy to fall into the “indecision loop” trap, where you keep going round and round between your options and never get anywhere.
To prevent this loop and be able to stick to my 10-minute rule, I realized that making a touch choice is not about the options, it’s about the desired result, which we’ll refer to as x.
A choice isn’t about the choice, it’s about the result of that choice. The question I ask myself isn’t “What should I pick?” but “What gets me x?”
X doesn’t have to be one singular thing. It can be a combination of multiple wants and needs. If my x at some point equals “more money, more time with family, and less commuting”, I know what my choices need to get me closer to.
What choices do I make that get me nearer to where I want to be?
Does a +b + c = x? Does a + b = x? Or does simply a = x?
In an objectively difficult example, where I need to choose whether to pay my rent on time or pay my school tuition, what do I do?
My x at such a point would be compound: “make more money, ensure I’m not in this situation ever again”.
What do I need to get there? What choices get me closer to x? Paying my tuition feeds my ultimate goal because, with more education, another degree, etc., I should be able to make more money and improve my situation.
The choice is the result. Focus on where you want to be, and use some self-imposed structure to reach that goal.