How to make a decision: the regret minimization system

Facing a difficult choice, Jeff Bezos’ decision making process has changed the way I view the world (and can too change yours). I just discovered it two hours ago and I couldn’t wait writing an article about it. Jeff Bezos isn’t the only successful figure to use this decision making process. To make a decision, Tony Robbins adopts the same mindset.

Context

At the beginning of the 1990s, Jeff Bezos had a more than comfortable situation working in Wall Street. He was hesitating between leaving a well-paid job and setting up his own business. Give up everything and go for an adventure, in which the probability of succeeding is so slim? That was the decision Jeff Bezos had to make before launching Amazon on the 5^th of July 1994.

Types of decision making: are you shrinking in your comfort zone?

In the long run, building courage is a smarter choice than running from imaginary dangers.

Most of us would have preferred a more comfortable situation. Jeff Bezos considered himself lucky at that time to have a Super Boss. But isn’t it a poor decision making? There comes a time when we feel attracted to something, a strong inclination towards a mission to accomplish, something bigger than us. Facing such decision is never easy. How then to make a decision? We have the choice either to take a leap of faith and jump to the unknown or do nothing and stay in our comfort zone. It seems that happiness is waiting for us outside our comfort zone so why do we still prefer shrinking in such way? The answer is fear, fear of uncertainty, fear of failure or simply fear of not being good enough. But F.E.A.R is called False Evidence Appearing Real for no reason. It might all be illusion, existing nowhere else but in our head. Overcoming one’s fear is a better decision. In the long run, building courage is a smarter choice than running from imaginary dangers. Self-confidence only comes when we face those fears. Our value lies in controlling fear rather than being controlled by it.

No need for a decision matrix template: the Regret minimization framework

But at 80, even if he failed, at least, he would say to himself that he tried.

Jeff Bezos could hardly find theories about decision making process. In the end, he came up with what would be called “regret minimization framework”. The idea is to project ourselves into the future. Jeff would imagine himself celebrate his 80^th birthday. At 80, by looking back into the past, his goal was to minimize the regrets he could have. At 80, will we regret our indecision and passivity while we had all our energy when younger? At 20 or 40, we still have all the capabilities to realize our dreams. If we think about those future regrets, taking decision becomes far easier.

For Jeff Bezos, this model simplified everything: he would regret all his life if he didn’t act upon his vision, if he didn’t take any actions towards his dreams. “Not having tried while having all the possibilities” would haunt him until his death even beyond. But at 80, even if he failed, at least, he would say to himself that he tried. This has at least the merit to give him a clear conscience. In 2018, Jeff Bezos’ net worth is now evaluated at 133 billion $, making him the richest man on the planet.

Decision making process : The 5 biggest regrets of the dying

I wish I’d had the courage to live the real life I’ve always wanted, not the life others expected me to live.

Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse conducted a study with people at the end of their life. This survey resulted in a book titled “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”. Among these regrets, we’ve got:

5) I wish I had let myself be happier

4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends

3) I wish I had the courage to express more my feelings

2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard

And the top 1 regret is:

I wish I’d had the courage to live the real life I’ve always wanted, not the life others expected me to live.

To conclude, let me ask you two questions:

At the end of our life, what would be our biggest regrets?
Are we committed to minimize those regrets and act now?

But once you took an action, a great mindset could help you persevere and achieve your goals, these articles can help:

Here is the video: