The Choice Before the Choice is the Most Important Choice

Trying to make a big decision? Don’t just weigh your options or make a pros and cons list. Decide how you will decide. Then, the actual decision will be easier.

Wanting to decide if you’re going to work out or not today? Don’t choose to work out. Choose to wake up earlier or choose to put on your running shoes. Then, the decision of working out or not has already been made for you.

Steve Jobs took months to pick out a washing machine. Why? It took that long to decide how he and his family would decide on the right model.

“We spent some time in our family talking about what’s the trade-off we want to make. We ended up talking a lot about design, but also about the values of our family. Did we care most about getting our wash done in an hour versus an hour and a half? Or did we care most about our clothes feeling really soft and lasting longer? Did we care about using a quarter of the water? We spent about two weeks talking about this every night at the dinner table.” (Source)

My busy schedule is easy to maintain. Why? Because each night I make the decision to plan the following day according to weekly and monthly goals. Then, when the sun rises, I don’t need to decide anything; all the decisions about how I spend my time have been made.

Choices are easy once you choose how to choose.