How often do you experience a conflict of choice?
As a business owner, even with clarity of purpose and budget constraints, the conflict of choosing still exists. This or That?
In my life, it goes beyond business decisions; even 30 years ago, there weren’t so many choices. Now, just choosing a case for my phone can be paralyzing.
I am slowly reading (or, better put, contemplating) the book “Antifragile” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
He discusses Buridan’s principle, which refers to a hypothetical situation in which a hungry and thirsty donkey is placed midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water. The paradox states that since the donkey cannot decide between hay and water, it dies of hunger and thirst.
The solution?
Randomness.
Taleb suggests only something random will move the donkey in one direction.
I smiled when I read this; even with my trained analytical skills as an engineer, I sometimes flip my trusty Swiss coin for a random intervention.
I didn’t know there was such a fancy name for this action! I notice the coin suggests a direction. That is randomness. However, at random, I often make the opposite decision. Sometimes, heading in a specific direction gives clarity.
Who new, flipping a coin is a good option!
How do you interject randomness when you are stuck in the conflict of choice?
Let’s roll! Karen
Human written Copyright 2024
