Ask Yourself: What Would the Future Me Think?
Decisions should be made on the basis of what the future versions of ourselves would think about the decision we about to make.
Hey readers đź‘‹
Last week, I explained why we shouldn’t be like Chimpanzees when making decisions, i.e. acting on impulse and emotions. Instead, long-term thinking trumps short-term thinking when making decisions.
This week, I would like to add a little bit of colour. When making decisions personal to us, we should always evaluate what the future versions of ourselves would think about the decision we about to make.
These are the sorts of decisions that shape the person we become.
If the future version of ourselves would approve the decision we’re about to make, chances are, it’s the right decision to make (for us). We should generally avoid making the choices our future self would not approve of.
Consideration of what the future you would make of the decision can be an effective mental model in helping you navigate the complexity of making the best decision over the long-term. It’s also a way to remain anchored to keeping the long-term within our focus.
What decisions have you made recently? What would the future you make of these choices?
Featured Article
New post from me this week. The post discusses why racism will kill football, amid the recent racist and discriminatory behaviour being experienced within all levels of the game.
Samuel Ajayi-Obe
3 Things I've Enjoyed This Week
- TED Talk: How to achieve your most ambitious goals | Stephen Duneier - As someone who’s on this lifelong quest to learning, this has quickly become one of my favourite TED talks of all time. It’s never too late to learn something or pick up a new skill. Break down the ambitious goal into manageable bitesize chunks and you can achieve almost anything.
- Finding the One Decision That Removes 100 Decisions - Often we feel overwhelmed with the quantity of decisions we have to make. With some thinking, we are able to find the one decision to make, freeing us from making several others.
- How an obsession with home ownership can ruin the economy | The Economist - The film challenges the preconceived notion of home ownership, and why owning your home may not be in your best long-term interests.
Tweet of the Week
Don’t seek perfection at the first go.
— Orange Book 🍊📖 (@orangebook_) January 25, 2020
Your book, your video, your app.
Any product. It will be bad.
You just need to iterate over and over.
And release only the version you like.
This Week's Wisdom
“Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result. It’s vulnerability that breeds with self-doubt and then is escalated, often deliberately, by fear”
- Michelle Obama, in the book: Becoming
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