Facing a Difficult Decision? Just Spin a Coin.

How do you go about making a really tough decision?  Like whether to quit your job, buy a house or dump your boyfriend?  You have weighed up all the options, written down the pros and cons, tossed and turned in your bed but still cannot decide.  Maybe you should just roll a dice or spin a coin and follow the chance result.  Heads you go, tails you stay.

Steve Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and co-author of the book, Freakonomics, carried out a detailed study of people struggling with tough decisions.  He found that making the decision based on chance led to a significant increase in happiness.  People felt better just because the decision had been made and they could move on; even if the decision was left to chance.

In the study more that 22000 people flipped a virtual coin.  They faced challenging real-life decisions ranging from ‘should I get a tattoo?’ to ‘should I quit my job?’ or ‘should we adopt a child?’  The respondents were followed up two and six months after making the decision.  Two-thirds had followed the recommendation of the coin toss.  Individuals who were told by the coin toss to make a change were much more likely to make the change and were happier six months later than those who were told by the coin to maintain the status quo.

As individuals we often cling to the existing state of affairs.  We stay in a bad relationship or an unsatisfying job because we are reluctant to risk change.  But the evidence is that generally a decision to change is for the best.  The decision you make is a good decision because you make it into a good decision.

If you are a leader then making decisions is important.  Everyone is waiting until you make the choice and once the decision is made the team can move forward.  Often the wrong decision is better than no decision because action leads to learning.  Of course it helps if the leader can change his or her mind and make a decision to admit and correct an earlier mistake.  So be decisive.  If necessary, toss the coin. Roll the dice. Take action.  You will probably be happier.

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This post was previously published on Destination Innovation.

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