4 ms·

paulsutter gave a good answer to this elsewhere in the comments. But I would add this: All other things being equal (or roughly equal), pick one at random. S

paulsutter gave a good answer to this elsewhere in the comments. But I would add this: All other things being equal (or roughly equal), pick one at random. Sure, there's opportunity cost, but there are also costs way beyond the time you take fretting over a decision. You said it yourself: You're "crippled" by anxiety. How is that better than making a random decision? Or just going with your gut?

baddox 12y ago
I think it's naive to assume that simply making a random decision would remove or reduce anxiety. Anxiety doesn't only come from the fear of regretting your decisions; it also comes from the fear of receiving a negative outcome, even if that outcome was "chosen" by a coin flip or a third party. Hence people are anxious to receive news after a job interview, or a call about a loved one's medical condition, despite both having nothing to do with their own decisions.
- dredmorbius 12y ago
  It's not that making a random decision will remove or reduce anxiety. It's that making a non-random choice 1) won't improve the predicted outcome and 2) won't reduce or remove the anxiety either. Given the alternatives of either 1) not making a decision, 2) drawing out the decision for a long time, or 3) failing to act in time on the option, simply making a random initial commitment addresses the decisionmaking aspect. Many decisions are capable of being reversed or changed later. If you're ever in a situation where you must decide (stay or jump from a burning building, say), there's still likely to be an option which is least bad. Even those who jumped from the WTC on 9/11 were making a decision. The outcome wasn't optimal, but in the circumstances, it may well have been preferable to the alternative.
mdda 12y ago
Another benefit of flipping a coin is that if, after the choice is made (e.g. the coin comes up heads), you instinctively regret it not having been tails : then you know what you wanted in your heart. Since your brain had no better answer than to flip a coin, then this is a quick and rationalizable way to see what your heart feels.
- judk 12y ago
  That's, not finding your true desire, though, that's just triggering the regret reaction. Flipping a coin is a way to think about the "what if I choose option B" in a way that feels like someone else made the decision so it's OK to resist it, instead of feeling like you made the descision yourself and get stuck in consistency bias (stubbornness).
taurath 12y ago
In my case, its a pretty stark decision: money or time. I have an opportunity to live and work wherever I please through a long-standing partnership with a company, or make a lot (a lot) more money through one of several other opportunities but more than likely have less time to enjoy and less freedom in where I go. I feel that both my career and life path hinge very closely on my decision, but I already have very strong leanings for the former. It is more difficult because I have a lot of friends and colleagues who do not share my philosophy on having a much stronger life balance.

baddox 12y ago

I think it's naive to assume that simply making a random decision would remove or reduce anxiety. Anxiety doesn't only come from the fear of regretting your decisions; it also comes from the fear of receiving a negative outcome, even if that outcome was "chosen" by a coin flip or a third party. Hence people are anxious to receive news after a job interview, or a call about a loved one's medical condition, despite both having nothing to do with their own decisions.

dredmorbius 12y ago
It's not that making a random decision will remove or reduce anxiety. It's that making a non-random choice 1) won't improve the predicted outcome and 2) won't reduce or remove the anxiety either. Given the alternatives of either 1) not making a decision, 2) drawing out the decision for a long time, or 3) failing to act in time on the option, simply making a random initial commitment addresses the decisionmaking aspect. Many decisions are capable of being reversed or changed later. If you're ever in a situation where you must decide (stay or jump from a burning building, say), there's still likely to be an option which is least bad. Even those who jumped from the WTC on 9/11 were making a decision. The outcome wasn't optimal, but in the circumstances, it may well have been preferable to the alternative.

mdda 12y ago

Another benefit of flipping a coin is that if, after the choice is made (e.g. the coin comes up heads), you instinctively regret it not having been tails : then you know what you wanted in your heart. Since your brain had no better answer than to flip a coin, then this is a quick and rationalizable way to see what your heart feels.

judk 12y ago
That's, not finding your true desire, though, that's just triggering the regret reaction. Flipping a coin is a way to think about the "what if I choose option B" in a way that feels like someone else made the decision so it's OK to resist it, instead of feeling like you made the descision yourself and get stuck in consistency bias (stubbornness).

taurath 12y ago

In my case, its a pretty stark decision: money or time. I have an opportunity to live and work wherever I please through a long-standing partnership with a company, or make a lot (a lot) more money through one of several other opportunities but more than likely have less time to enjoy and less freedom in where I go. I feel that both my career and life path hinge very closely on my decision, but I already have very strong leanings for the former. It is more difficult because I have a lot of friends and colleagues who do not share my philosophy on having a much stronger life balance.