Tag Archives: decisions

James Clear on hats, haircuts, and tattoos

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I love this! James Clear has a weekly email, 3-2-1 Thursday, with 3 ideas from him, 2 quotes, and one question. I have shared this a few times because I think this weekly email is one of the only subscriptions I read every single time I get it.

A couple weeks ago this was one of the items from him:

“I think about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts, and tattoos.

Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don’t like it, put it back and try another. The cost of a mistake is low, so move quickly and try a bunch of hats.

Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won’t be quick and you might feel foolish for awhile. That said, don’t be scared of a bad haircut. Trying something new is usually a risk worth taking. If it doesn’t work out, by this time next year you will have moved on and so will everyone else.

A few decisions are like tattoos. Once you make them, you have to live with them. Some mistakes are irreversible. Maybe you’ll move on for a moment, but then you’ll glance in the mirror and be reminded of that choice all over again. Even years later, the decision leaves a mark. When you’re dealing with an irreversible choice, move slowly and think carefully.”

How often do we think of hat decisions as if they are haircut decisions, or haircut decisions as if they are tattoo decisions? I think that we tend to overdramatize or exaggerate the consequences of small risks or decisions, and this holds us back from a lot of opportunity for adventure, growth, and learning.

Try some different hats on… and don’t worry so much about the ones that don’t fit.

Inner voices

Have you ever wondered about that inner voice you hear? Who is speaking? And who is the voice speaking to?

Is the voice lifting you up or pushing you down?

Is the voice helping you make decisions or making your decisions difficult?

Is the voice convincing you to take action or has it convinced you not to?

There are times the voice listens to your body, telling you of hunger, thirst, or need of sleep. There are other times when it listens to your mind, telling you to question, to learn, to problem solve. These are times when the inner voice makes sense, it is a collaborator, an ally. There is congruence.

And then there are times it negotiates with you, telling you reasons you should or should not do something… it is indecisive or in conflict with your instincts. At these moments I wonder who is talking to who? When the scales tips and the decision is made, whose decision was it? Where does the incongruence come from?

Is there a path we can travel where we live in full congruence with ourselves? Can we find a path where our inner voice always acts in our best interest? Where we do not argue with ourselves? Is this a path worth seeking, or are we indecisive by nature and require internal conflict?

What does your inner voice think when it hears this question: Can our internal voice be harmonious?

Is that a realistic goal or an unrealistic expectation?

Junk vs treasure

As we pack up our main floor for our renovation, I’m coming across souvenirs and trinkets from vacations and travels. Some of them have been hidden in drawers and cabinets unseen for years. Do we keep it or throw it away? Does it get put in a box only to be seen again when we unpack after the renovation, and then tuck it in a drawer not to be seen again until we move? Or do we let go of it now?

The saying goes ‘One man’s junk is another man’s treasure’ but when looking at your own stuff, sometimes it is simultaneously both. Do we need 3 sizes of wine glass sets for more than 6 people each? Do we also need the fun set of patterned wine glasses, and the plastic ones for outside? No, we don’t need them. But will we throw or give any away, or will we keep them? Are they worth holding on to?

I suspect we will be keeping a lot more junk than we should. We’ll see value, be it functional or sentimental, and we’ll hold on to too much stuff. I think we would get rid of a lot more items if we had a critical friend helping us and just asking, “Do you really need to keep that?” In most cases the answer would or should be ‘No’, but for my wife and I, many of these things will end up in a box and back into a drawer or cabinet. Hopefully we’ll be a bit more hesitant to keep some of our boxed junk when it’s time to unpack, and these unnecessary items will be given away to find homes in someone else’s house.

But I’m sure of one thing, we are going to end up keeping far more than we should… Maybe not truly a treasure, but not quite considered junk (yet).