Hamster wheels in my mind and decision making…

I can feel the cogs in my brain start to turn when faced with a binary decision. Instead of asking “is this something I want to do?” I first examine the other factors that come into play, and often the question of is this something I want to do becomes irrelevant. The outcome of the algorithm forces the answer upon me and the I feel thrusted down the path that had already been decided by me.

Example- Bungee Jumping.

Step 1: Is this something that will improve the quality of my life? If not, the process stops, the hamster stops running and the wheel and cogs wind down and I’ll resume life. If yes the hamster runs a little more and I’m off to Step 2.

Step 2: If I do this what are the chances of serious bodily harm or death? Similar algorithm runs but this time it’s on a sliding scale along the X & Y axis, the hamster is running at full speed and the process becomes a little more muddied. If there’s an element of serious bodily harm or death I have to balance that vs the perceived improved outcome of life. Usually the answer is clear at this point.

In the case of bungee jumping it was easy. Yes, it would improve the quality of my life. The memory would be priceless and self confidence would rise. Statistically the chances of harm or death are relatively small. Decision: do it. So I did it…and it was awesome.

In the case of The Boat Plan the same process was run, over and over, until the outcome became clear.

Step 1: A resounding yes. My kids are 7, 5, 3 and to much of the time I spend with them feels fleeting and shallow. According to waitbutwhy.com and reflecting back on my own life experience, 93% of the time you will spend with your children will be when they are under the age of 18. I can sense that I’m going to blink, they will all be older, and I’ll be listening to Cats in the Cradel wondering where it all went.

Step 2: I’ll get into details of this in another post, but the short answer is the chance of serious bodily harm or death, while present, is overall lower than the act of getting in a car and driving to school. Life is full of risks, even if you try to avoid all of them.

Decision: Spend 2 years traveling around the world on a boat with the family.

There’s plenty to do and the unsettled feeling I have is quickly dissipating, replaced with excitement and zeal. We leave in 4 years, 11 months, 10 days, 13 hours and 44 minutes.