Dr. Ellen Langer

Then you pull in information to make them different.

So let's say you find out A is $100 and B is $1,000.

There's no decision.

right?

It follows mechanically.

You're going to take the thousand dollars.

Okay.

So you're never really doing these cost benefit analysis.

Sometimes you gather information so you can justify, well, here's why I did this thing that you think is stupid.

So anyway, you have to read it to fully appreciate it.

But the bottom line is rather than waste your time trying to make the right decision, make the decision right.

And so I had students live for a week.

I said, from now until you come back for class next week, do not make any decisions.

Flip a coin, use a rule.

The rule could be the first thing that occurs to you is the option you're going to choose, but no decisions for the week.

They come back and they had a stress-free, wonderful week.

And you accept the decision you made as the right decision.

Exactly, because you can't know.

Now, sometimes people regret the decisions that they make, and that's mindless for many reasons, but not the least of which is- Because you can't change it again.

Not only that, is that that other thing that you regret having chosen this could have been worse.