One of the most challenging mindsets to overcome in life is that of hype. It’s so common, in fact it has a number of similar expressions: getting caught in the current, the shiny new thing, the latest fad, and so forth. People commonly to respond in one of three ways:
- Chasing after the new thing or idea with zeal
- Rejecting it altogether as they already have pledged their commitment
- Rejecting it simply because it’s new and they’re leery of new things
It’s not too difficult to understand as we’re constantly bombarded with new ways of thinking, new experiences we must have, or knew things we must own. As an engineer, I’m staggered by the constant flow of innovation in the web industry. It seems like every few minutes a new framework is coming out wish a shnazzy name like “Fluid” or “Headwind” (😉).
I recently came across an excellent article by Aaron Jorbin. In the article, Aaron explains why he’s moving back to a more standard WordPress setup having not too long ago rebuilt his website to be headless using NextJS. The article reads like a postmortem, with Aaron explaining all the drawbacks of headless WordPress that he’s now acutely aware of. Moral of the story: It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Looking Back
The reality is that things hardly are ever sunshine and rainbows. Even rainbows come about due to rain! Every single decision we make comes with things gained and things lost. I’ve yet to come across a single decision in life that did not come with trade-offs, even the ones that seem obviously wonderful or obviously terrible. Let’s take a few:
Choosing Marriage
I am a thoroughly happy married man. I love my bride of almost nine years. If I were to choose again, I’d stick with my decision. What I gained in marriage is a lifelong friend, companion, teammate, confidant, and so forth. It has cost me is total autonomy, time, money, stress, and compromise.
Working at GiveWP
I really like my job! I enjoy what I do and I love who I work with. From it I’ve gained wonderful friends, a steady salary, nice benefits, flexibility, the chance to help nonprofits, etc. It has cost me other jobs, potentially higher pay, prime weekday time, stress, and struggle.
Working with WordPress
WordPress is a mixed back, and those who have worked deeply with it. I think folks tend to become a bit jaded, however, and forget both sides. Using WordPress I’ve gained access to a massive global market, this website, a living, and a community. It has cost me frustration with it technical limitations such as plugin dependencies, ancient trac tickets, being stuck with PHP 5.6, and so on and so forth.
The trick is that we quite often, like Aaron did, wait to have the revelation of the trade-offs in our decision retrospectively. It’s standing at the end of a journey and looking back that we suddenly realize all that we gained and lost. It takes effort and wisdom to make it a habit to consider our decisions at the forefront.
How to see the trade-offs
1. Slow down
It may seem obvious — and many of these ideas are — but the first step is simply to slow down. If you have the idea for a cross country road trip and you’re 500 miles in before you really stop and consider the price of gas, whether you can take the time off, and such, you’ve already put yourself in precarious position, and seeing clearly will now be all the harder.
So really slow down. Stop, even — physically and mentally. Consider what’s in front of you.
2. Recognize your bias
In basically every situation your mind will lean one way or the other. You may be in favor or against — neither is a clear indication of clarity. We can trick ourselves by being proud of either our optimism or skepticism. The easiest way to recognize your bias is by observing which direction seems obvious. If it’s obviously a good idea, that’s your direction; if it’s obviously bad, there you go.
3. Articulate the differences
Like crossing the street, now it’s time to look both ways. Really force yourself to identify and articulate the differences. Don’t just keep things abstractly in your head. Write it down or discuss it with someone (or both). But whatever you do put clear and distinct words to everything you see. This is often when things begin to flow.
4. Identify the lesser obvious
This actually is a skill to develop. In engineering, for example, folks tend to see the tremendous benefits of various systems very quickly and neglect one important detail: complexity. Mouse traps are incredible machines because they have irreducible complexity. That is, removing a single part breaks the whole thing (not just part of it, the whole thing). It’s as simple as it can be. Like writing, it’s easy to be wordy and hard to be concise. Complexity is a cost.
So in this step really try to think outside of the box. What’s staring you right in the face so closely that you can’t even see it?
5. Make a decision
This might seem unexpected, but it’s important in this process to finish with a conclusion. Lost to the previous four steps one can easily end up with analysis paralysis. Identifying trade-offs isn’t about belaying decisions; it’s about making smart, informed decisions. It may be a touch slower, but back-peddling later is net worse.
Conclusion
The ability to see the trade-offs in our decisions before we make them is a life skill. Make make decisions at home, at work, on vacation, and with our families. The sooner you begin to hone the skill, the more quickly it will serve you. Reading this cost you time and mental energy, but hopefully you’ve gained foresight into an invaluable ability.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. - Luke 14:28-32