I: 35,000 Decisions

A Series: Getting What You Want (And Avoiding What You Don't)

Remember how easy it was to choose a CD out of the glove box, a movie off the shelf, or an item on a menu? Compare that to choosing a playlist on Spotify, a movie on Netflix, or food on DoorDash. The modern American makes over 35,000 decisions per day, and it’s becoming easier and easier to see how that’s possible.

Gone are the simple days of living in the town your family always has, doing what your daddy does, and marrying the girl down the road, at least for most of us. Although it’s starting to seem more and more appealing.

In the U.S., deaths related to obesity greatly outnumber those related to underweight, and recorded deaths by suicide are approximately twice as high as those by homicide. We have reached sicknesses of excess, known by some as “affluenza”.

In a big way, we’ve won. We aren’t hungry, thirsty, or cold. But survival is not the same as thriving. We’ve traded those problems for others like chronic disease and mental illness. Our brains are sea sick. They don’t know how to cope with the novelty and the speed of the modern day.

In a world of infinite choice, how do we make the right ones? Instinct and intuition are more important than ever. How do we develop them when the world feels like a snow globe taped to a jackhammer? For me, it’s taken a lot of conscious effort and protocols.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll receive some ideas that have helped me make more good decisions and less terrible ones over the years, including:

• Part I:

  • Avoiding potholes, skipping the boring chapters, and having less Mondays

• Part II:

  • Turning gravity on, planning in reverse, and choosing your own adventure

• Part III:

  • Finding your North Star, avoiding cannibalism, and aiming the rocket

• Part IV:

  • Finding your rabbit’s foot, turning lights green, and living the movie

See you next week.