Life choices
The fabrics of our life are choices that we cumulatively chose along the way. A bad choice to shift your trajectory off by a mere one degree today can make a huge impact on your future. The error is magnified. Choice has this type of divergence over time and it's called "impact differential".
Our life's choices are like a tree with millions of branches that represent the consequences of our choices. Near the trunk of the tree, the branches are thick, reflecting the decisions we made early in life. The top branches are thin and not so rigid, representing the decision we made recently.
Strategy to face choices:
Worse Case Consequence Analysis (WCCA)
Designed to steer you away from detours and treasonous choices.
It asks you to answer three questions:
- What is the worst-case consequence of this choice?
- What is the probability of this outcome?
- Is this an acceptable risk?
Weighted Average Decision Matrix (WADM)
Designed to help make better big decisions with multiple contingencies.
For using WADM, you need at least two choices. Let’s say you live in Jogjakarta and you are considering moving to Singapore. Follow now these steps:
- Get pen and paper and make three columns, one is called Factors, and the others for each option Jogjakarta and Singapore
| Factors | Jogjakarta | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
- Which factors are important for your decision? These factors could be the weather, cost of living, being near family, safety, transportation, taxes, … . Write down all relevant factors for your decision.
| Factors | Jogjakarta | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | ||
| Cost of Living | ||
| Near Family | ||
| Safety | ||
| Taxes | ||
- Weigh the importance for each decision factor from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important one. In our example family could be really important for you, so you give it a 10 and you don’t care about the weather so you give it a 1.
| Factors | Jogjakarta | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Weather(1) | ||
| Cost of Living(7) | ||
| Near Family(10) | ||
| Safety(1) | ||
| Taxes (5) | ||
- Now grade each option 1 through 10 for each decision factor. The weather in Jogjakarta might be a 7 in your opinion and the weather in Singapore slightly worse, so you give it a 6. You are a family person, so Jogjakarta gets a 10 and Singapore a 3. Continue this for each decision factor.
| Factors | Jogjakarta | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Weather(1) | 7 | 6 |
| Cost of Living(7) | 4 | 3 |
| Near Family(10) | 10 | 3 |
| Safety(1) | 6 | 9 |
| Taxes (5) | 5 | 6 |
- Multiply now the weight times the grade and put that number next to the grade in parentheses. For example: Family in Jogjakarta (10 x 10 = 100) and for Singapore (10 x 3 = 30)
| Factors | Jogjakarta | Singapore |
| ----------------- | ---------- | --------- |
| Weather(1) | 7(7) | 6(6) |
| Cost of Living(7) | 4(28) | 3(21) |
| Near Family(10) | 10(100) | 3(30) |
| Safety(1) | 6(6) | 9(9) |
| Taxes (5) | 5(25) | 6(30) |
| | | | - Sum up the graded weight columns. The highest number will be the choice of your favor.
| Factors | Jogjakarta | Singapore |
| ----------------- | ---------- | --------- |
| Weather(1) | 7(7) | 6(6) |
| Cost of Living(7) | 4(28) | 3(21) |
| Near Family(10) | 10(100) | 3(30) |
| Safety(1) | 6(6) | 9(9) |
| Taxes (5) | 5(25) | 6(30) |
| Sum | (166) | (97) |
In this example, you would stay in Jogjakarta because it received a score of 166 over 97.