Give yourself no choice

Everyone has their own theory about what qualifies as the best decision.

Some say the best decision is the one you will regret the least, while others say it’s the one you fear the most.

Some say the best decision is the one with the greatest expected utility, while others say it’s the one that whispers to you from the pit of your gut.

Some say the best decision is the one that brings you the most joy, while others say it’s the one that pisses the most people off.

Some say the best decision is the one you make with trusted council, while others say it’s the one you make by yourself.

Personally, my belief is that the best decision is the one you never have to make in the first place. It’s the one that liberates you from having to make a thousand other decisions down the road.

Obama comes to mind. During his second term, there was a popular lifestyle magazine that featured his many productivity tips. Barack told the journalist that he only wore gray or blue suits. He said he was trying to pare down decisions, since he had so many other important decisions to make.

As leader, the act of making a decision erodes your ability to make later decisions. Whether or not your offices are oval, he said, you need to find ways to reduce friction in your days. You need to focus your decision making energy, rather than going through the day distracted by trivia.

Irrespective of your politics, you have appreciate his approach. Because it goes well beyond wardrobe.

This isn’t about clothes, this is about eliminating decision fatigue so you’re not making careless choices or worse yet, paralyzing yourself into doing nothing.

Here’s the leverage question you might think about asking in your own life:

How could you give yourself no choice?

Notice it doesn’t say anything about the best choice, but no choice at all. That’s a paradigm shifter. You burn the ships, so to speak, in all those micro moments, trusting that the excess energy you save from not having to think about chickenshit can be redirected to meaningful pursuits.

See how it feels to give yourself no choice. Optimize your life so you paint yourself in a simple, life giving, stress avoiding, streamlined corners.

That way, everything else will follow in proper order, like a magnetic field ordering iron filings.

What decision could you give yourself permission to never make again?