Why options distract us
Class Connection: Value focused thinking
I had read a book during my spring break called ‘Predictably Irrational’. psss….I think I am loving these kind of books now. This books talks about the various irrational decisions a rational person takes, such as, feeling better with a expensive drug as compared to a cheap over the counter medicine, stealing office supplies but not money, and etc. etc. But the interesting premise is that we tend to behave irrationally in a very predictable fashion. Unh!
For the purpose of this article, I want to discuss one such irrationality we display. 
In chapter 8, the author, Dan Ariely, discusses Why options distract us from our main objective? He cites several examples where given a choice between easy path and low rewards now vs. difficult path but high rewards later, people tend to choose the former. Another example talks about Xiang Yu who led an army against the Ch’in Dynasty. While his troops slept, he burned his ships and smashed all the cooking pots. He explained to his troops that they had to either fight their way to victory or die. His troops won 9 consecutive battles. Eliminating options improved the focus of his troops.
That brings me to the topic of value focused thinking. If we start with our objectives, then also we will have options/alternatives. But will they tend to distract us? I don’t think so because the options will directly stem out of the main objective. Again, yes we are irrational, and this step of listing the options will have to be made rationally. I am of an opinion that to remove this fallacy from our thinking, it is important that we try to build this habit of value focused thinking and sooner or later, our decision making process will be more streamlined and rewarding.
P.S. The author also has a website. Check it out for a good read.
