It’s impossible to keep all of the great advice and the accumulated wisdom handed down from centuries of successful people in mind. Yes, Warren Buffet has great insights into business, and ancient philosophers like Seneca knew a lot about dealing with life’s problems. But it takes a lot of effort to pull up and sort through when it’s most needed… Which is almost always when I’m hurried, tired, hungry, stressed, or at a low point.
Solution:
Use carefully vetted rules of thumb to manage most choices. Here are some to consider:
Triage your decisions. Give a moment of thought to how much impact this decision can have on you and others both now and cumulatively in the future. How will you feel about it in 5 days, 5 months, or 5 years? Can it be reversed easily or not? For high-impact, long-lasting decisions step back, take a deep breath, and give the decision your undivided attention.
For all the rest, let your default rules be your guide. The huge majority of choices you make have a low individual impact but are IMPORTANT… That’s because each choice changes your starting position for the next choice (and that compounds things over time). Choose the rules you want to follow in advance. Keep them simple and general. Making a tiny improvement to the rules you follow for everyday choices has a huge impact over time with very little effort.
You are responsible for everything in your life. This means how you position yourself, what choices you make, and how you react to the world around you. Of course, you’re not responsible for a lightning bolt that drops a tree on you, but you are responsible for the ways you choose to react. You are responsible for being out in the storm. Accept the responsibility to make your life what you want it to be.
Keep moving. This rule covers positioning yourself to avoid problems and take advantage of and/or create opportunities. It also covers continuous learning. The same goes for physical activity. We’re not built to plant ourselves like trees. You can always be moving to improve your position.
Be prepared. I learned this as a Boy Scout and it’s such a cliche that most people ignore it altogether. This goes back to taking responsibility for your results. Starting a new job? Learn everything about doing it well. Continuous learning is a must in our competitive world. Getting married? Know your spouse and yourself. Have those tough discussions about money, kids, and family values beforehand. Stay healthy.
Be good. Build a world where life gets better for everyone. Work toward it. Justice, wealth, and resources are still not evenly distributed. Evil exists and bad things happen but the good you can put into the world is what makes life worth living. Work toward a better tomorrow.
Be lazy. Discover what’s truly important to you. Make sure you’re doing the right things before you spend effort doing them efficiently. Focus on being effective first and then on being efficient. Only do worthwhile things. Do them as well as possible and as efficiently as possible. Effort spent anywhere else is just wasted.
Gung Ho. This is something the Marine Corps taught me that is deceptively powerful. The literal translation is “working together”. No individual can be as effective as a group of people united in a common purpose. The family is stronger than the individual. The community is stronger than the family. If we can ever unite all of humanity to work toward a world that is objectively better for all of us, imagine how effective we could be. By the way, this also calls back to the earlier guideline about being lazy. Nothing is more effective than all of us working together for a common purpose.
“To travel fast, go alone. To travel far, go together” - African proverb
Benefits:
Better outcomes - No guarantees, but they have been working for me. They improve my odds of making good picks by avoiding bad options and focusing on important things. They help to continually move me toward better positions. You’ll need to choose the rules that work best for you.
Less worry and clutter - By using these as a starting point, I don’t have to worry that I’m not making the “optimal” choice. My choice will at least be a good one. Don’t waste energy or worry about things that are completely out of my control.
Simpler and quicker decisions - For the things I can influence, these rules give me a much simpler and quicker way to evaluate things. If something passes these guidelines, I can be pretty sure it’s not going to harm me or others.
