By Shazad
Buridan's ass is a paradox about decision-making and moving forward in life. It describes a hypothetical situation where an ass or donkey that is both hungry and thirsty in the same proportion, is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water. The assumption is that the donkey will always go to whichever thing is closer and since both are equal distance, it dies of both hunger and thirst. The donkey simply can’t make up its mind about the hay or water.
We all know people who suffer unnecessarily and even freeze into a kind of analysis paralysis because they can’t make up their minds. It’s self-inflicted torture and pain that can be avoided. Each person just needs to figure out what they want the most and take action which can then be followed by the second choice or another choice later. In a worst-case scenario, just flip a coin and go with whatever comes up - Heads or Tails! There is no reason to be frozen or stuck in your life because time is like a forward-flowing river and we can’t just stand in it. We HAVE TO make decisions so we might as well get good at the process.
The best way to make decisions involves realizing some things and I’m sharing these below for your benefit:
First, what’s the worst that can happen if we make the wrong decision on food or drink or anything else? Buying this property or that other property? Going to this school or that school? Certain decisions are truly profound and life-changing so they need to be made very carefully. Many others like what to wear, what to eat, or what show to watch, etc… are low risk and just need a decision to be made.
Second, figure out if the other option in front of you disappears or is just delayed a little if you picked wrong. Can you recover quickly from what you might consider a wrong decision or is it a very big recovery effort in terms of time, money, or effort? This will make decision-making a little easier and less painful.
Third, create a life with fewer trivial decisions. Do this by deciding ahead of time on clothes to wear or food to eat so it’s automated. Save your mental energy for truly significant decisions each day so you are not drained by all the small decisions you made leading up to one or two big ones each day. Have a uniform of clothes you wear on weekdays, make the same 2 or 3 breakfast items each day, and say “NO” to most tv shows or social engagements that everyone else is doing. When you develop mental space for making decisions and are not cluttering your life with too many things to think about, you will make better decisions on the things that matter.
In the end, decide to live your own life on your terms and according to your values. Don’t worry about what others will think of you or be scared to make a ‘tragic’ decision. Your daily choices are probably not “Life or Death” issues so don’t be so stressed about them.
Most of life is “fixable” by choosing wisely again if a mistake has been made and you immediately start to correct course. Don’t worry so much about being embarrassed or your public image because you made a few wrong turns. What really matters is how hard you are trying to do the right things and fix mistakes when you realize what happened.
Choices are a part of life so ‘choose your own adventure’ and enjoy the ride. In many cases, things will work out as good or better than you thought!
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