The moment I think of making decisions, I will go places into my history. I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I have seen people seldom took it. You know why? Because it's too damn hard. I never questioned them, never risked in following them either. Being a silent watcher I never preferred to be on firing side. When those difficult Cases occur, they are difficult, chiefly because while we have them under Consideration, all the Reasons pro and con are not present to the Mind at the same time; but sometimes one Set present themselves, and at other times another, the first being out of Sight. Hence the various Purposes or Inclinations that alternately prevail, and the Uncertainty that perplexes us.It started from day one when my dad was saying, no shouting stating that I lack discipline and clarity in my decisions. At that point I don’t even know the meaning of those two little words and my dad is expecting me to use them in real time. Very funny!!! Science or arts, engineering or medicine, electronics or computers, MS or MBA everything in my life was bonded by my odd capability of making so called worst decisions. People say we often learn from our mistakes. Certainly true to some extent. I totally took that in wrong context and started committing as many of them that I never had time to learn from them. Years after my engineering, I am still in a dilemma when I have to take sides. May be I will always learn from my mistakes, throughout my life.
To get over this, I started a strange Way i.e., to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns; writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration, I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives, that at different Times occur to me, for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavor to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out. If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con, equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Balance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther consideration, nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly. And, though the Weight of Reasons cannot be taken with the Precision of Algebraic Quantities, yet, when each is thus considered, separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I can judge better, and am less liable to make a rash Step; and in fact I have found great Advantage from this kind of Equation, in what may be called Moral or Prudential Algebra.
A structured approach to decision making can help us make good decisions, but can’t guarantee good outcomes. We are sole and whole responsible for our own deeds. We always play safe by taking advices which in turn lead us to make our decision battened. My experience was so little. I tend to make simple but yet powerful decisions to make myself inquisitive.
Now I have an interesting situation to discuss. The whole purpose of places like coffee machines is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to sip one cup of coffee or tea. Lemon, black, light, horlicks, chocolate, cappuccino etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are, can, with in 10 seconds, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tea! Coffee! Cappuccino! It comes naturally. Often we do mistakes. Next day the taste as well as the ability changes. May be reciprocal to each other. The least thing we ever expect is to have an uninvited visitor in our cup. A cockroach in cocktail of course. (Wait for my next blog to handle uninvited visitors!!!) Next time you ask me right or left, definitely I will say straight.
To get over this, I started a strange Way i.e., to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns; writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration, I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives, that at different Times occur to me, for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavor to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out. If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con, equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Balance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther consideration, nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly. And, though the Weight of Reasons cannot be taken with the Precision of Algebraic Quantities, yet, when each is thus considered, separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I can judge better, and am less liable to make a rash Step; and in fact I have found great Advantage from this kind of Equation, in what may be called Moral or Prudential Algebra.
A structured approach to decision making can help us make good decisions, but can’t guarantee good outcomes. We are sole and whole responsible for our own deeds. We always play safe by taking advices which in turn lead us to make our decision battened. My experience was so little. I tend to make simple but yet powerful decisions to make myself inquisitive.
Now I have an interesting situation to discuss. The whole purpose of places like coffee machines is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to sip one cup of coffee or tea. Lemon, black, light, horlicks, chocolate, cappuccino etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are, can, with in 10 seconds, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tea! Coffee! Cappuccino! It comes naturally. Often we do mistakes. Next day the taste as well as the ability changes. May be reciprocal to each other. The least thing we ever expect is to have an uninvited visitor in our cup. A cockroach in cocktail of course. (Wait for my next blog to handle uninvited visitors!!!) Next time you ask me right or left, definitely I will say straight.
3 comments:
The moment we need to choose between a set of choices we think about the out come and get into the pros and cons.
When we say prows and cons again it’s very much relative to a specific context.
Let’s say I have been given a choice of picking up food items for my lunch. Once side I have lot of nice attractive junk food and other size lot of fresh green nutritious stuff.
So now I need to identify the prows and cons in choosing each of the items, so that I can make a right (so called) choice.
So now I am going to list the pros and cons based on what criteria is another critical question. It could be…
1. Health conscious listing
2. Taste conscious listing.
3. Or even a price conscious listing.
So this selection is totally depends on what kind of person I am. Am I a health conscious person or I just want to have a happy enjoyable meal even it’s not adding any value to my health.
So the pros and cons that you mark based on the context may be an entirely wrong one. But still it remains right to you.
So the important thing to be noted here is that how you make your decisions. Do you listen to your heart or to your mind?
Ok now the real problem comes only when your heart and mind are not in sync. Let’s say I went by my heart and had all the junk food and enjoyed my meal. So now your mind is not going to leave you alone. It’s going to keep on remaining you that you have made a wrong choice and the possible outcome of that.
On the other hand if I have to go by my mind and have good nutritious food again your heart is going to give you a thought time.
This fight between heart and mind is not just in our choice of food but in lot more, I would say in every thing… yes every thing…
Good One Tanuj. But don't you think many a times we just need to get into action before you think. For example in the case of a photographer, always an action goes before the sec thought coz he knows that otherwise he's gonna miss the object in action. I have this feeling that we are moving to a mechanical world from a practical world.
Good start with blog......And hellooO with "Cockroach in Cocktail", u meant me...he he. Coz I'm using it as a brand name for my film production workzZ...he he. Anyways, good job Tanuj. Keep writing.
Cockroach
Tanujwa...try to be original.. the last parra is a copy from the movie 'You've got mail'... chi chi...
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