Decisions decisions decisions

Today’s post is another that has come about as a result of a series of shower/running/walking thoughts. I have three vignettes about decision-making:

1. We never know with hindsight if we get the big decisions right

I spent the weekend before last in Katoomba at my parents' house. Being in the Blue Mountains often makes me feel nostalgic. It has an oldie-worldie feel to it (or at least it does to me). When I was out running I had flashbacks to a similar route I ran once or twice back in 2011 when I was training for a marathon (which I found via the old tracking app I used to use). I also remembered running past a block of land on Cliff Drive on this route that was for sale. It wasn't an empty block - it had a ramshackle shed in the middle that looked like it would topple over if you gave it a nudge, so it was a knock-it-down-and-start-again job (see pictures below). My (now) wife and I were taken by the block. It had amazing views of the valley! We considered buying it. We didn't have any plans to buy property in the Blue Mountains or to live there at that time so I don't know what we would have done, but there was just something about those views that captivated us. Most likely we would have tried to rent it out for peanuts (couldn't expect to get much rent for a ramshackle shed like that!) at a loss and continued living in the one-bedroom apartment we lived in back then until we properly fleshed out our vision for the property. We would have then had two mortgages and I probably would have felt stuck in my job (or at least in that line of work). Consequently I probably never would have seriously considered switching careers in my mid-30s and life would have been very different from how it is today. The people that ended up buying it built a huge 4-bedroom/5-bathroom/3-car garage (with separate studio) monstrosity on it. I just saw a listing on Stays (which is a short-term listings site similar to Airbnb - see below) yesterday for it - the owners would be doing well for the prices they are charging if they get a decent occupancy rate! Did we make the right decision? I think so, but maybe life would have been rosy if we had bought that property.

From this:

The ramshackle shed as it was in 2011
Image source

to this:

This monstrosity has taken over now
Image source

2. Are we just a few bad decisions away from poverty/homelessness/addiction/[insert other unfortunate circumstances here]?

The suburb in which I live has a lot of wealthy people and a lot of homeless people. Whenever I walk down the main street I am usually confronted by people whose circumstances are less fortunate than mine. It often makes me think - how many of these people started out privileged middle-class and ended up where they are today through a series of bad decisions? What would it take? Taking too much financial risk? Taking a hard drug at a party, enjoying it, taking it again and again until you're dependent on it? You bet on the horses and have a couple of wins, and go back for more and more and more - but you're not winning anymore? You cheat on your spouse? I'm sure there are more. It just makes me think that I need to be careful with the big decisions in life, and never forget how fortunate I am!

3. The more choice you're given the harder it is to make a decision (even if it's just over something inconsequential)

On Saturday I was out shopping for a new backpack. I left the house at about 12:30 to meet my wife in town at about 1pm. I'd eaten a late (light) breakfast at about 11:30 (although I did have a slice of raisin toast at about 9am). So when I was walking around town after 1pm I started feeling hungry which led me to feeling light-headed. I said to my wife that I wanted to eat something, and would she mind if we pick up something after we'd finished shopping. If making a decision on what backpack to buy wasn't hard enough, deciding what to eat was even harder. There were too many choices, and we went round and round in circles trying to come to a decision! Both of us were frustrated and I remembered how much I dislike shopping in the city. In the end we shared a bowl of chips and we each had an iced tea, and that was enough to perk me up. That is all. First world problems!

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