Accept the tradeoffs

"All human actions have both advantages and disadvantages, and it is never possible to have the one without the other."

Aristotle

An essential aspect of decision-making is understanding that a clear “best” decision rarely exists. Sometimes, they do. The rare unicorn where the right choice jumps out in front of you. But decisions become more challenging and unclear when reaching for something beyond our skills and abilities. Given the circumstances, your current perspective or anticipated outcome, you may opt for something you otherwise would not have based on the trade-offs required. We often delay our choices because we search for the ideal option that completely satisfies our beliefs and values. Unfortunately, life is full of gives and takes, and it’s better to figure out how to live with the foreseen consequences than endlessly vacillate between arguably equal choices.

If we dig deeper into this ideology, we soon realize that absolute solutions may not exist. There are choices and consequences.  We need to understand those in the present and work on figuring out what may come later from our current choices. That can be challenging when we don’t appropriately gauge our abilities or understand what’s driving us toward a goal in the first place. How often have you stopped and weighed the pros and cons of a given choice?

When we default toward action, decisions are made without contemplating the cost. I often fall into this trap and take on too many tasks or projects in the name of productivity. I’ll say yes before weighing the pros and cons of time and resources needed against where those same time and resources could be used elsewhere. Time spent facilitating a workshop is time away from my wife and kids. Resources invested in one hobby can always be put somewhere else. Without a clear vision or understanding of what we’re trying to achieve, these decisions become more challenging than they need to be.

And after some time, we may find ourselves in the same place rather than moving toward a vision or goal.

Aristotle believed that compromise and tradeoffs were necessary in order to achieve a good life. He argued that there is no such thing as a perfect solution, only a solution that is the best possible under the circumstances. He also argued that we should always be willing to compromise and make tradeoffs in order to achieve our goals.

In his book Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle wrote, "The mean is the best state, but is hard to attain, because on either side are many bad states, and to hit the mean is not a matter of luck."

This means there is a middle ground between two extremes and that the best way to live is to find this middle ground, i.e., the golden mean. However, it is difficult to find because either side has bad states.

Aristotle also believed that we should be willing to compromise and make tradeoffs to achieve our goals. He wrote, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

We should be open to different viewpoints, even if when disagree. We should also be willing to compromise and make tradeoffs to reach a consensus.

That’s why it’s important to know and live our core values and understand the nature of our beliefs. It extends beyond our everyday lives to something more profound; stepping outside our perspective and looking at different viewpoints becomes more purposeful. Finding the “golden mean” becomes achievable.