Two Types of Decisions

In a 2015 letter to Amazon shareholders, Jeff Bezos spoke of two types of decisions:

"Some decisions are consequential and irreversible or nearly irreversible – one-way doors – and these decisions must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great deliberation and consultation. If you walk through and don’t like what you see on the other side, you can’t get back to where you were before. We can call these Type 1 decisions.

But most decisions aren’t like that – they are changeable, reversible – they’re two-way doors. If you’ve made a suboptimal Type 2 decision, you don’t have to live with the consequences for that long. You can reopen the door and go back through. Type 2 decisions can and should be made quickly by high judgment individuals or small groups."

In short, some decisions are irreversible, while others are two-way doors.

While this may seem obvious, most people make decisions as if they’re irreversible, leading to overthinking, stagnation, and excessive risk aversion. In reality, most decisions in life are reversible, two-way doors.

An extreme example of this is buying a jam. Clearly, buying a particular brand of jam will not irreversibly impact your life. Yet, we overthink because we want the "best" to optimize our lives and minimize regret.

Leaving My Full-Time Job Was a "Type 2" Decision

When I was offered a great locum opportunity in rural Manitoba, I had a choice: quit my job to pursue the locum opportunity or stay with my stable full-time job.

I was feeling overwhelmed by all the pros and cons. I also began catastrophizing failure: "If this new job doesn't work out, my career will never recover..." Then it hit me – leaving my full-time job was actually a "type 2" decision. If the locum job turned out to be suboptimal, I could always find a new full-time position (which is fairly easy for optometrists).

This perspective gave me the confidence to embrace the new opportunity.

Bias to Action

I often speak of having a bias to action because most of us (including myself) tend to resist change. However, research consistently demonstrates that people regret choices they didn't make rather than the things they did try.

So if you're struggling with making a difficult decision, ask yourself: "Could this be a type 2 decision?

Click here for Bezos' insight on failure and innovation in the same shareholder letter 💹

Join me on a journey to redesign life, one step at a time! 👊