A significant and intense chunk of our lives may be spent pondering 'hard choices.' Should we continue in our relationship with X or part from them to see who else we might find?
But what if we land on no one better?
But what if we stay and the relationship never improves?
Should we buy this property that's beautiful but worryingly close to the railway tracks?
Or should we buy the other one that has a bit less charm but might be quieter?
Should we accept this job that has prestige and the possibility of a stellar future?
Or should we stay where we are because we love our colleagues and have a high quality of life?
Part of the agony of choosing at such moments is that we are in the background consumed by the idea that the 'wrong choice' may prove appalling in the extreme and the right choice a route to exceptional fulfilment.
But we are perhaps suffering unnecessarily and might find reassurance in the strategic use of two kinds of thinking, alternately optimistic and pessimistic in tone.
To trial the former, we might propose that part of the reason why certain choices feel so hard is that all options on the table have — in truth — something quite good to offer us.
