Children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by — Decision-making

"If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another."

"The type of rationality we assume in economics — perfect, logical, deductive rationality — is extremely useful in generating solutions to theoretical problems. But it demands much of human behavior — much more in fact than it can usually deliver. If we were to imagine the vast collection of decision problems economic agents might conceivably deal with as a sea or an ocean, with the easier problems on top and more complicated ones at increasing depth, then deductive rationality would describe human behavior accurately only within a few feet of the surface. For example, the game Tic-Tac-Toe is simple, and we can readily find a perfectly rational, minimax solution to it. But we do not find rational “solutions” at the depth of Checkers; and certainly not at the still modest depths of Chess and Go."

"The fine art of executive decision consists in not deciding questions that are not now pertinent, in not deciding prematurely, in not making decision that cannot be made effective, and in not making decisions that others should make. Not to decide questions that are not pertinent at the time is uncommon good sense, though to raise them may be uncommon perspicacity. Not to decide questions prematurely is to refuse commitment of attitude or the development of prejudice. Not to make decisions that cannot be made effective is to refrain from destroying authority. Not to make decisions that others should make is to preserve morale, to develop competence, to fix responsibility, and to preserve authority."

"Within image theory (e.g., Beach, 1990; Mitchell & Beach, 1990), it is suggested that important components of decision-making processes are the different “images” that a person may use to evaluate choice options. Images may represent a persons principles, goals, or plans. Decision options may then match or not match these images and be adopted, rejected, considered further, depending on circumstances."

"... Making medical decisions has been the physicians job, never our own. When we seek treatment, we often find ourselves lost, adrift in a poorly designed system that pushes us along quickly and officiously from the silo of one specialist to the next. Were told to always ask our doctors, but then were consigned to less than 15 minutes of face time in an office visit. When we seek out information, we get lost in a muddle of contradictory studies and imprecise advice. ... ... By factoring in our family histories, our good and bad habits, and, ultimately, the conditions we need to ward off or treat, using a approach can maximize our efforts to push ill health, and ultimately death, as far into the future as possible. Its a powerful way to think about our health."