This newsletter was going to be all about OODA loops.
No, it's not a new breakfast cereal. Although just thinking about that has made me hungry.
OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. And the OODA loop is another of those military-inspired frameworks for making decisions when you're under pressure. Like FORDEC, about which I've written previously.
I'd got as far as writing the first couple of paragraphs when it struck me that the interesting thing here is not so much about how we make decisions, but rather about recognising when we're making a decision.
After all, it's the decisions we make that determine so much about us.
For example, I made the decision a few moments ago not to go downstairs and get myself a bowl of frosties. Because (a) it's not breakfast time and (b) I like being able to fit into my jeans. Also, we don't have any frosties.
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Life is, essentially, a series of decisions.
Some are quite momentous decisions. Should I marry this person? Should we buy this house? Should I take this job? Should we have another child? Should I sell up and move to a shack on the beach?
Decisions of this magnitude are usually fairly easy to identify. They frequently involve the need to sign something.
Oftentimes, though, the decisions we make are so subtle, so seemingly trivial, that we don't even realise we're making them. We bimble along and stuff just happens. Like pinballs on the decision tree of life.
I guess my point is this. When we do something, we've decided to do it. And when we don't do something, we've decided not to do it.
The key is to recognise that we're making these decisions. And to make them consciously and deliberately.
Because it's through our decisions that we define who we are and how we live.
