How to make guilt-free daily decisions? 🧠💡
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I have been habitually playing Catan, the board game, through most of my free hours these days. The goal is simple, to accumulate more resources, build economies of scale and eventually become powerful to win. To add more fun to the game, an element of luck is introduced through randomized dice and board arrangement. A player who can surpass the hurdles, negotiate their way to obtain the resources they want, and most importantly, not go meet a dead-end finally wins the game.
If you have ever played Catan, or actually any board game, you know that most in-game decisions are taken around:
What resources are needed to grow in the game? How to accumulate resources in an efficient way? How do I use these resources to win?
The art of winning is centered around recognizing which resources one has in abundance and swapping those for the ones that bottleneck your growth!
Yet, most people (read me!) do the exact opposite in life! They keep accumulating one resource i.e. money with a false hope that it is the only resource capable of solving all their problems. They sacrifice their health, relationships and enjoyment several times daily to earn a few extra bucks.
I performed a short activity to save myself from a lot of wrong decisions going ahead. I strongly recommend you do this too! Based on your current position in life, list down the resources you have vs the resources you seek currently. The aim is to utilize the “Resource I have” to gain the “Resources I don’t have”.
A simple and quick jot down for me looked like this -
Going forward, at each stage, decisions should be focused on optimizing the resources on the left to obtain those on the right. If one can swap money and education to gain time, fitness and mental health, life would definitely be more as one dreams it to be. Daily challenges could include -
Choosing the expensive gym near my office over the similar-yet-cheaper gym a km away from home (Money vs Fitness and Time)
Deciding between staying at home and renting a flat near the office (FnF and Money vs Time and Mental Health)
Asking your friends and relatives to trust you and share your resume/post to gain more traction (FnF vs Credibility)
While most people are already aware of this subconsciously, they often find themselves struggling with the execution. They struggle to let go of the resources they hold, despite holding a source that could create more of it. Common confusions sound like -
“Is the convenience at that gym really worth Rs.3k more per month?”
“It’s not that bad travelling by train daily. I try to leave home before the morning rush so that I don’t struggle to find a seat.”
“If I am not selected for that role, what is my friend, who referred me, going to think of my capabilities?”
We can find the answers to our confusion within the game itself!🌲⛏
In the game, when we find ourselves stuck in a tight spot without the right resources - even a 4x:1x deal seems like the obvious thing to do. Our personal and professional lives work in the same way. To progress, it is fair that we give up resources at the worst rate possible - like convincing an auto driver to give us a 2km ride on a rainy day for Rs.200 or investing in a home gym despite knowing that the enthusiasm might be lost soon. Well, mainly because, to win the game you need the most points. To gain these points, you could build the longest road, or have the most houses, use the development cards or sometimes even just be average in each of these consistently.
It’s your game to play, strategize with the resources best available to you!
Over the last year, I have spent most of my monetary and non-monetary resources to improve my physical and mental health, make life more convenient for myself and those around me and lastly, to save as much time as I can from non-essential tasks. The outcome has been a rewarding, and well-balanced life in which I feel more in control. Thanks to @PortKeyBearer who first introduced me to the idea of resource swaps! And always remember -
📗: An unwanted result doesn't make our decision wrong if we have thought about the alternatives and probabilities in advance and allocated our resources accordingly!
-Thinking in Bets, Annie May
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