Do What Seems Harder

In the figurative "road" that is life, there are many, many forks.


I like to think that there is a general rule of thumb that can be applied to any type of situation. Pretty much every problem that someone encounters, every challenge that is met, and every decision that has to be made can have a rule of thumb applied to it based on previous similar events. 


For example, let's say you were invited to a New Years party, and accepted the invitation. The next day, you receive a second invitation to a party that you think will be much more entertaining than the first. You already agreed to go to the first party. What would you do? Another example: You have a paper due tomorrow. You finished it, but you really need to get an A on it to boost your grade. Unless you go over it and make some serious edits, you are probably not going to get the A you want. What would you do?


My father has more than once given me the following advice: Whenever presented with any decision where you need to choose one option over another, no matter what the situation, you should always pick the one that seems harder. It's foolproof. Think of the examples I mentioned. Obviously you would want to go to the better new years party. It would be easy to make up an excuse and potentially upset the person throwing the first party. But whatever, they won't mind - right? Well, maybe not. You could instead keep your word and still go to the possibly less entertaining party. It would bug you that you could maybe be having more fun - but it was the right thing to do. Same thing with the paper: Anyone could just stop right there and hand in what they have. But what is harder? Well, staying up and turning it into an A paper is much more difficult than just going with what you already wrote.


So many times will you have to make a choice in your life. The more effort you put into something, the greater a result you will receive from it. Putting in effort is certainly harder than not doing anything, so I think it's clear what the message is. Decide based on the outcome, not the short term. Do you want to go to law school? Better start studying now, even if it means sacrificing some short term free time. Do you need money for a new cellphone? Earning the money and buying it yourself is more rewarding than being given it right away.


Things would work out better if everyone were to adopt this policy. The population's engine would be running at a better efficiency. More happy people, more deals being made, more productivity... more of a lot of good things. Just that little bit of extra effort being put into the harder choice is what makes for a better future. Small and large tasks alike, the effort shows in the results.


I am completely dead from a snowboarding trip today. I don't even want to get up to brush my teeth before going to sleep, and my bed is a few feet away. But... Is it harder to get up and brush my teeth, or just go lay down and go to sleep?


I'll be asleep tonight with minty breath.