Entrepreneur, Author, Content Creator with 9M+ followers across platforms. I share this newsletter every Friday around personal growth, books, quotes, pictures - it is the most personal version of me online.
warikoo Wanderings
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My book "DO EPIC SHIT" is now pirated and available at local street vendors as well. Which means, it is doing well! Which means, if you buy original books you should consider buying a copy. Order your copy here
THE KEY THING ABOUT DECISION MAKING
Let's say you have to make a choice in life.
Choose between 2 jobs. Or 3 colleges. Maybe even 2 potential partners, for a romantic relationship :)
There are mostly 2 challenges we face, in making such decisions.
Challenge 1: We already know what we want
The way most of us approach these decisions is to start with what we feel.
Emotions. Gut. Intuition.
That drives our first response.
We may not want to admit it, or say it out loud, but hand on heart we always know which is the choice that we would like to go for.
But the minute that happens, we have biased ourselves.
What will happen thereafter is that we will be naturally drawn towards any evidence that suggests that our choice is the right one.
We will speak to people - and they may say multiple things, but we will tend to hear only those that we wish to hear.
Scientists call this confirmation bias.
Challenge 2: We have no idea what we want
Hah! This is familiar, isn't it? If I could get $1 for every email I get that has the words "I am confused", I would be a millionaire :)
In such scenarios, it is our lack of awareness that is the hindrance.
Remember when you took up science/commerce/humanities in Class 11, with little idea of why you are doing that? That's what I am talking about.
How do we handle these 2 challenges?
By moving towards data!
Now, before you shout out loud "I am not a numbers person" - bear with me.
What I am proposing is not some complex math.
I am proposing giving numbers to your emotions, as crazy as it sounds.
Let's do this together.
Say, you have to choose between 2 job offers you have.
You are either facing challenge 1 (I want to go for Job #1, but I am not sure), or challenge 2 (I have no way to decide).
Here is what I would do:
All of this on an excel sheet, please :)
So the sheet will look something like this.
Why does this work?
Last step,
Calculate the effective score for each, by multiplying the score with the weightages.
Here is how it will look:
There you go!
Your emotions, expressed in numbers, suggest that Job 2 is the better option for you. The money is the same, the job profile is the same, it's actually a worse-off location, and yet it wins, because of how you value brand and work culture!
Translating emotions in numbers, lends authenticity to your emotions.
This exercise is one of the best to start that journey :)
BOOK I AM READING RIGHT NOW
This week I am reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
This is a terrific book for anyone to understand human psychology and why do we say yes to something, and no to some things.
For example: why do restaurants have the most priced products on the menu printed right in the beginning, than the end.
Or if I told you that this year there will be no increments in your company, due to Covid, and then after a month I came back and said "we had some improvements, so we are giving everyone a 4% increment", people will actually be happier!
I love reading such books that explain the human mind. Pick this up if you care about it too.
QUOTES TO SHARE
Time goes away and leaves us with only one of these two things: RESULT or REGRET
(Share on Twitter)
We all need that somebody in life who says "Go on, I am here to listen" and actually mean it.
(Share on Twitter)
You are doing more than you can, because you are scared you will be left behind. But by doing so, you are already behind!
(Share on Twitter)
RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION
Last week, I asked you:
How many close friends do you have?
Here are the results:
Observations:
PICTURE OF THE WEEK
You know your book is doing well, when you find pirated copies being sold on the road! :)))
For the original copy, click here :)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
When was the last time you cried?
Click here to let me know your answer (anonymously)
CONTENT I SHARED THIS WEEK
Podcast:
Title of episode: What is this telling me?
Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, JioSaavn or Gaana.
YouTube:
Title of video: I had 5 months of money left
You can watch it here.
Instagram:
Title of video: 3 signs of true friends
You can watch it here.
Twitter:
Title of thread: 22 habits for 2022
You can read it here.
You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.
I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.
(Sardiyon mein subah subah garam paani peene ki kasam!)
You can share this newsletter on WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn or view it on the web.
by Ankur Warikoo
Entrepreneur, Author, Content Creator with 9M+ followers across platforms. I share this newsletter every Friday around personal growth, books, quotes, pictures - it is the most personal version of me online.
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