Decision capital

You only have a limited amount of decisions you're able to make every single day.

It's like a decision bank account.

And the more decisions you make, the more decision capital you’ll withdraw from that bank account, the fewer decision capital you’ll have left.

And it doesn’t matter how big or small the decision is that you make. Every decision will withdraw the exact same amount of decision capital.

It only applies to decisions we’ve never made before though.

When we are in situations we’ve never been in before. Because these are the situations we’re not used to. Situations we’re not familiar with. Situations where our brains don’t have a map to follow. Situations that make our brains sweat.

Like choosing a dish in a restaurant we’ve never been to with 30+ different items on it. It’s almost as hard as deciding what job to apply for.

The later during the day and the more decisions you’ve already made, the harder it’ll get.

Or deciding about what video to watch on YouTube. Or what blog post to read on Medium. Or what podcast episode to listen to. Or what clothes to wear. I think you get the idea.

All of these things, no matter how big or small, reduce our available decision capital.

I become aware of this phenomenon every time I travel to a place I’ve never been to before. Now if you only travel that’s no problem and you won’t be aware of it.

But when you try to get some stuff done while traveling it gets very tough.

Like finding a restaurant that doesn’t only serve good food but that also looks like you won’t end up with food poisoning.

And the longer it takes, the longer it takes to find a suitable restaurant, the more equity from your decision bank account will be deducted. And then there’s not enough capital left for all the important decisions of the day.

That’s why Steve Jobs wore the same sweater every single day.

That’s why Mark Zuckerberg wears the same t-shirts all the time.

They don’t want to waste any of their decision capital on meaningless decisions like what clothes to wear.

They realized that to be able to make the best decisions possible they needed all available decision capital.

So they eliminated all the meaningless decisions from their lives.

To be able to put all of their decision capital on the things and decisions that really matter..

Archives

Quote Box

"97% of the people out there won't care about what you do. Act accordingly."
"Money is not for buying things. Things don’t make us happy. Money is for buying ourselves some freedom to do the things that make us happy."
"Being unrealistic is the most realistic thing you could do."
"You just need one person who cares about what you do. And that person is you. And no one else. It all starts with you."
"We always think we have enough time. Until we realize there's no more time left."
"The only way to stay ahead of the curve is to create your own curve."
"Be the dealer. Don't be the junkie. The dealer always wins. And the junkie always dies."
"The only person you should try to please is your 80 year old self."
"It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you keep your eyes closed.."
"Most advice doesn’t work. Because most advice comes from people who’ve never even done the things they're taking about. And that's dangerous."
"Being able to build something out of nothing is the most important skill. For what? For everything!"
"Why are people who write about millionaire habits not millionaires?"
"No one will magically find out about you."
"The things you don't want to do are usually the things you should be doing. They're almost always the things that will get you where you want to be."
"Don't let other people's reality be your reality.."
"Today it's easier to get started than ever before. That's why most people give up so easily. Because it was so easy to begin with."
"When you hate your job you'll never be able to do more than just mediocre work."
"Don't listen too all the life advice out there. It's all B.S. Just like this right here."
"No one starts as an expert. We all start from the bottom. And have to work our way to the top."
"The only thing that will ever lead to quality is quantity. To do it over and over again. That’s the only way."
"Be a Warrior, not a Worrier!"
"New ways of doing things never work. Until they do. Just like old ways of doing things always work. Until they dont."
"Constantly thinking about things won’t get you anywhere. You'll never find a solution just by thinking about it. You've gotta start doing."
"Not getting it right is part of the process of getting it right."
"How long does it take to change the world? As long as it takes to change yourself. So probably your whole life."
"Focusing on results won't get you results. Focusing on the actions that produce results will get you results."
"It's easy to forget all the things you have when all you do is to focus on the things you don't have."
"Perfection will only hold you back"
"Never listen to anyone who has never done what you're doing or want to do. Ignore your parents, your friends and pretty much everybody else."
"Trading time for money is not freedom. It’s a prison. The only way you’ll ever be able to make more money is to trade more of your time."
"The only way to beat the system is to know the system. Inside out."
"It's not what you do on your good days that will make you. It's almost always what you do on your bad days that will either make you or break you."

yann girard - rethinking the now