Evaluating big life choices might be overrated
==============================================

*Two simple observations and my own two cents*

> Rational choice models of decision-making suggest gathering information on options and then proceeding with the option that best fits a person's current preferences and values. Paul argues that such a decision-making process is not possible for some options, called "transformative experiences", because the experience fundamentally transforms the person experiencing it. Paul offers a hypothetical example of a decision to become a vampire. Because a person would be fundamentally transformed by becoming a vampire, they cannot possibly know in advance what being a vampire is like. Other vampires might offer information, but their advice is likely shaped by their own irreversible choice. In this situation, a fully informed comparison of preferences and values is impossible.

~ [Wikipedia summary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformative_Experience) of L. A. Paul's "Transformative Experience"

Folks, you've heard it, evaluating too much doesn't only lead to [analysis paralysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis), it also sometimes just isn't possible .
The question remains: why should you do something you can't evaluate?

> [Steven] Levitt invited individuals who couldn't make up their minds about matters both major (like divorce) and minor (such as changing hair color) to avail themselves of a randomized coin toss.
>
> ...
>
> Individuals whose virtual coin turned up heads were 25 percent more likely to make a change than those whose coin flip yielded tails. And, based on what they reported in two follow-up surveys over a six-month period, the nudge of a coin toss was just what these participants needed. Regardless of their responses to the coin tosses, participants who decided to make a change reported that they were substantially happier than those who did not.

~ [Summary of Working Paper 22487](https://www.nber.org/digest/oct16/change-or-not-change-just-flip-coin?page=1&perPage=50), National Bureau of Economic Research

I have never ever regretted big life choices, even if they didn't work out.
Quitting a job with no money and no backup plan taught me a ton: I improved my network, learned how to ask for favors and introductions, and started to hustle.
I learned I can go bankrupt and the value of social welfare systems.
Next month I am joining a startup with all the responsibilities I wish I had in my previous job.

Let this post be the coin flip for your life choices.

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