Choice and changes

A big change may be easier to commit to on the surface...but are you ready for all the small things that go with it?  That's trickier...

"Finding balance" sounds to me like something to be done once and checked off, or maybe I can turn over a rock and go, "oh, balance, thereyou are hanging out with my missing socks!"  I've been thinking about this concept lately because I've decided to train for a Tough Mudder event in May.  This is requiring a significant shift in my priorities in life, but more importantly I'm compelled to find a way not to make my life all about this.  It's a significant event for me, a goal and a motivator, but shouldn't (even for the next 6 months) define who I am, nor will I allow it to become so all consuming that completing it becomes the only acceptable outcome.

This situation has highlighted (once again) for me what complex, boundedly rational and fairly predictable creatures we are.  It has brought into sharp relief, in a very personal way, many of the concepts that interest me most...

• complex multi-variant personal choices
• the process of creating and integrating change into life
• group and social support / dynamics
• creating focus in life
• sustaining a livable, balanced life

 I've put those roughly in the order in which they are occurring for me, and seem to happen in most situations.

Complex multi-variants and bounded rationality (sounds fancy, right?)
If we were truly rational decision makers we'd gather all the data about a situation, weigh it logically and then make an analytical assessment and go with the mathematically recommended course.  Obviously this is not the case for any of us, with the exception of our robotic minions (who I suspect are my primary fans on this blog).  We are boundedly rational, meaning we establish patterns, rules of thumb(s?) and other analytical shortcuts.  Usually these help us be more economical in our decision making and not get caught up in constant over-analysis, however, they also leave us open to cognitive bias pitfalls when situations get too complex or emotionally driven to fit our pre-established models.  This can lead to poor or shortsighted decisions.  (So stop blaming yourself for poor choices and start blaming bounded rationality!  A bumper sticker perhaps...?)

My personal example of deciding to attempt to do the Tough Mudder event...  So far I don't consider this a poor decision, however, I will admit to not thinking through all of the smaller ramifications of the choice.  For example...I didn't realize how much my grocery bill would increase due to the amount and quality of food it takes to keep my body happy with this level of exercise.  The impact of new social circles, personality types and social dynamics that have become part of my life has also surprised me.  The need to do a lot more laundry and take a lot more showers...and on and on...

So my point in all this today...whenever you make a decision, especially one with a major paradigm or behavioral shift associated with it, you'll be happier in the long run if you recognize up front that there are far, far more variables (most of them unforeseeable) that will come into play than you can acknowledge or analyze up front.  You can still be mentally, financially and otherwise prepared for this overall trend...but not specifically prepared. 

Today's post was a little disjointed, but that's kind of how I'm feeling right now...I have a feeling I'll find my focus again as I lean into and sit with the changes and transformation that are occurring in my life now and in the weeks to come.