Young & Old Test

From Weekly I/O#42


Young & Old Test: Make decisions that your 80-year-old self and 10-year-old self would be proud of.

Article: The Most Powerful Decision Making Razors

Before making an important decision, we can ask whether our 80-year-old and 10-year-old selves would be proud of the decision.

Our 80-year-old self will take care of our decision's long-term impact and the compounding effect.

Our 10-year-old self will ensure we still have some fun and excitement along the way.

This test also reminds me of what Terry Crews said in the book Tribe of Mentors about discussing with an imaginary grandson about his decision:

"Ask an imaginary grandson about decisions and relationships and whether to continue them or not. "Grandpa, you shouldn't do this. You need to leave these people alone because we will be affected negatively" Those moments show me that this whole thing is bigger than me."


Want to learn 5 bite-sized cool things like this every week to understand the world better? Sign up below for my free weekly newsletter and learn together!

Weeklyio Banner

You might also like