It’s Like Playing a Never-Ending Game of “Would You Rather?”
Most everyone is familiar with the game “Would You Rather?” It’s a game where players are asked questions that compare two different scenarios and then have to choose which one they would rather do. The questions can vary from simple to complicated.
Would you rather…
- Spend a day in the Sahara Desert or spend a day at the North Pole?
- Have the ability to fly or be invisible?
- End hunger or end hatred?
This game isn’t any different from everyday life.
We are faced with choices every minute of every day. Some of these choices are small and simple; some are important and can have major consequences.
Would I rather…
- Eat this or eat that?
- Wear this or wear that?
- Drive this route or take that route?
- Go in debt to buy a new car or save my money and drive something older?
- Take this job that pays well but requires me to sacrifice my morals, or take a job that pays considerably less but allows me stay true to my principles?
Back in May of 2019, I was faced with an either-or situation.
Would I rather…
Keep a construction project moving forward or work on proposals that customers were waiting on?
The construction project was behind schedule due to weather delays, and the forecast for the following week showed the possibility of more rain. The subcontractor was already behind on some of his other projects because of the weather. He said he could get there, but he was going to be shorthanded.
The “Would You Rather?” question came up when he jokingly suggested that I come on site and help. I could dust off my tool belt and spend a couple of days swinging a hammer, or I could work on the things I had already scheduled to do.
The sub was surprised when I showed up with my tool belt on.
Was it the right decision? I think so. Other than being a little sore after framing for a couple of days, we moved the project forward, and that was important.
Every day, we are confronted with hundreds of these choices, some big and some small. It’s easy to spend more time than we should making decisions because we want to make the best one. But sometimes, while we are spending too much time trying to make the right decision, we have inadvertently made the wrong one.
Little decisions shouldn’t require too much contemplation. Bigger, more important decisions are a different story.
The important thing is to prioritize.
Know what makes one decision better than another, and have the tools in place to help you make that next big decision.
As I was reading through the First Decision from Andy Andrews’ book The Traveler’s Gift this morning, I was reminded of the superpower of choice that we’ve been given.
In this book, Andy gives seven life principles that successful people throughout history implemented when they were faced with crucial decisions.
That idea of choice became even more relevant today when I had multiple things happen that left me without enough time to write a new Weekly Solution. So, I chose to pull one from the archives.
“Would You Rather?” is happening every minute of every day.