The Whatever People (or, How I Learned to Make a Decision)
The idea of having a choice is exciting. It empowers me. I feel in control. The reality, however, is often paralysis. I may feel anxious, tired, or indifferent. I wish someone would just choose for me.
Gary Basin • Choice is like junk food
choices are like a mini-death, where we lose a possibility of what our lives and work might become.
Why People Fail to Make Important Choices
As I make hundreds of small choices throughout the day, I’m building a life—but at one and the same time, I’m closing off the possibility of countless others, forever. (The original Latin word for “decide,” decidere, means “to cut off,” as in slicing away alternatives; it’s a close cousin of words like “homicide” and “suicide.”)
Oliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
When we pursue optionality, we avoid bold decisions. Like anything meaningful, venturing into the unknown is an act of faith. It demands responsibility. You‘ll have to take a stand, trust your decision, and ignore the taunts of outside dissent. But a life without conviction is a life controlled by the futile winds of fashion. Or worse, the hollow e... See more
David Perell • Peter Thiel’s Religion
Picking a path reduces optionality, so people stay in limbo and don’t make commitments. This language doesn’t only apply to career planning. Some students talk about marriage as the death of optionality. But life is not like options trading.