Decision-Making - - hats, haircuts, and tattoos

We all make thousands of decisions a day. Most of the decisions we make have taken the form of habits--waking up, brushing our teeth, showering, eating breakfast, driving to work; these decisions are engrained into our daily routine. 

Some of our daily decisions require a little more thought--what outfit to wear, where to eat lunch, what to watch on TV in the evening; these all need a moment of consideration. 

Once in a while, the decisions we make require a lot of thought--what job to take, where to live, and who to marry; these all require quite a bit more consideration.

The author, James Clear, talks about decisions this way,

"I think about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts, and tattoos.

Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don't like it, put it back and try another. The cost of a mistake is low, so move quickly and try a bunch of hats. 

Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won't be quick and you might feel foolish for awhile. That said, don't be scared of a bad haircut. Trying something new is usually a risk worth taking, If it doesn't work out, by this time next year you will have moved on and so will everyone else. 

A few decisions are like tattoos. Once you make them, you have to live with them. Some mistakes are irreversible. Maybe you'll move on for a moment, but then you'll glance in the mirror and be reminded of that choice all over again. Even years later, the decision leaves a mark. When you're dealing with an irreversible choice, move slowly and think carefully."

Most of our decisions are hats--we can quickly move from one hat to another with no repercussions, finding the best option. Some decisions are like haircuts--they might take a minute to fix if we get a bad one, but over time, things will be fine. Very few decisions are tattoos, but for those decisions that are, it is crucial to get them right. 

Problems start to arise when we treat haircut decisions like they are tattoos or vice versa, when we treat tattoo decisions like they are haircuts.