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PRODUCT.|PHILOSOPHY.|LIFE.

Weighing the pros and cons



I usually do not deliberate much, weigh the pros and cons, look at the choice and the consequences from all angles, when I make choices.

A few years ago, I was looking for an apartment to rent. Some of my friends that were also looking for an apartment in the area at the time had visited several, taken photos, looked at proximity to public transport, the price, the size, the distance from our workplace and several other things. They had a desirable threshold in mind for each of these factors against which they evaluated every place they looked at, and finally picked one that scored highest on the ranking scale.

I looked at one and decided I didn't want it. I looked at the next and I decided to take it. It had a fabulous view of the sea and a forest which I immediately fell in love with. From then on, it was not about weighing pros and cons. It was about analysing the other aspects of the house and ensuring that they were functional.

In my experience, it is more important to just make a decision and stick with it than sit back and evaluate all the pros and cons. Because, quite often, by the time we finish our evaluation, the time to make the choice would have passed. And even if it hasn't, we will make the choice knowing we are settling to live with the cons.

The only reason why we deliberate on making a choice is because we are afraid of making the wrong one. When we look back, we often think, would my life have been better, richer had I decided to take the other alternative?

We could be making the wrong choice among the available choices or we could be making a choice too early and miss out on an opportunity that comes by us at a later point.

And the thing is, no matter how much we deliberate, we can still not be sure about these two aspects. This is how an A/B test works when testing a feature. You have to run the test for eternity in order to be hundred percent sure about an outcome, but if you are OK with being 90% sure, you can probably conclude the test in a week.

So, don't think too much. If you feel strongly about something, just do it. You will rationalise everything else that comes along after that and it will be worth your ride.

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