Are those really your only options? | Learning to choose with mindfulness
Hi there, it's Rina-wan!🐶
When you're making a decision, don't you ever think like this?
"Should I do it or not?"
"Should I choose A or B?"
Lining up two options and thinking about which one is better.
This is a very natural thing to do, isn't it?
But, I'd like to ask you something here.
Are those really your only options?
For example, at work, there are times when you discuss, "Should we proceed with this project or cancel it?"
And often, you end up continuing the discussion within just those two options.
But in reality,
• Trying it out on a small scale
• Changing the approach
• Utilizing it in a different way
There might be other possibilities like these.
It's surprisingly common to keep thinking only within the options that first appeared.
In decision-making research, it's said that the quality of a judgment is influenced not only by what you choose but also by
what options you have.
In other words, to make a good decision, increasing your options is also important.
In mindfulness, there is a concept called "Beginner's mind."
It's an attitude of pausing for a moment and re-examining things by asking, "Is this really the only way?"
When you do that, you might notice new options that you hadn't seen before.
If you are currently struggling with something, I'd like you to try asking yourself this:
"Are these really my only options?"
Perhaps there is a third way that you haven't seen yet.
In your daily life, when do you notice a third way?
If you'd like, let me know in the comments🐾
Magazine Introduction | Pausing for a moment, while things remain ambiguous
This article is the first installment of the series, "Pausing for a moment, while things remain ambiguous — Valuing the time spent in uncertainty."
Let's cultivate time together where we don't have to come up with an answer right away.
You can find the magazine here.
References
Karelaia, N., & Reb, J. (2015). Improving decision making through mindfulness. In J. Reb & P. W. B. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in organizations: Foundations, research, and applications (pp. 163–189). Cambridge University Press.