Opportunity Costs

Margherita 🍕 or nature 🏔️?

Our lives are shaped by the choices we make.

Therefore, we should be careful how we decide, especially when those decisions could significantly impact our lives.

Currently, I am grappling with such a decision and I'm seeking greater clarity. I want to fully understand the potential consequences of my choice and identify any drawbacks.

In essence, I want to uncover its opportunity cost.

To illustrate the concept of opportunity costs, imagine you were faced with the decision of relocating to a new city.

If you moved, you might have less contact with your friends, or no way of getting that delightful margherita from your favorite pizza place anymore.

On the other hand, NOT moving might mean turning down the chance for a promising job or for beautiful nature close to your home.

However you decide, there is a hidden “cost” associated with picking one option over the other – missing out on the benefit of the choice(s) you didn’t pick.

If you have a bigger decision to make, this email is for you. Use it to get clarity about its consequences, positive and negative. (And if you don’t have such a decision to make right now, why not use the questions to evaluate a past decision and find out if you’d still make the same choice?)

Let's get started!

💡 Reflecting on Opportunity Costs

(Like always, you can download the Notion template of this issue of Grow Your Mind to take structured notes.)

What are your potential alternatives?

And what are the primary opportunity costs associated with each option?

How aligned is this decision with your long-term goals and values?

What impact will it have on your overall life? What are the potential ripple effects, and how might they affect your choices? How might this decision affect your emotional well-being, i.e. your happiness, satisfaction, or quality of life?

How do you plan to monitor and evaluate the ongoing opportunity costs?

Are there specific checkpoints or indicators you will use to determine if adjustments are needed? How flexible is your decision-making process, and are you open to reevaluating your choice if circumstances change?

🙏 Thanks!

Thank you for reading and being part of Mental Garden. Like always, I genuinely hope you found this email useful.

More than ever, I wrote this email to ponder about this topic myself. Facing a decision that could significantly change the way I live my life in the following months, I just want to make sure I make a good choice. Wishing you a fantastic weekend! ⛵️

With gratitude,
Marc

PS: What are the opportunity costs of not deciding?