Coaching practices for I'm Staring at a Choice Where the Smart Strategic Move and the Right Thing to Do Point in Different Directions and I Keep Trying to Find the Angle Where Doing Good Also Wins but Something Tells Me I'm Running the Wrong Kind of Math on a Question That Isn't Supposed to Be Optimized
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For I'm Staring at a Choice Where the Smart Strategic Move and the Right Thing to Do Point in Different Directions and I Keep Trying to Find the Angle Where Doing Good Also Wins but Something Tells Me I'm Running the Wrong Kind of Math on a Question That Isn't Supposed to Be Optimized, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m staring at a choice where the smart, strategic move and the right thing to do point in different directions, and I keep trying to find the angle where doing good also wins
- I keep wanting to lock in the single most optimized version of the plan, but I can feel how fragile that gets if the world shifts
- This is a one-way door
- I pour the same agonizing effort into picking a toothpaste as into a real life decision, and by the time something that matters comes along my capacity to decide well is already spent on trivia.
- I’ve been hyper-focused on hitting one number
Practices that may help
- Know your two selves (Adam I and Adam II)
Distinguish the self that wants to build and achieve from the self that wants to be good.
The Eulogy Virtues: Building a Life of Character - Prefer positions with optionality over positions with precision
In uncertain environments, prioritize options to pivot over optimized fixed positions.
The Ludic Fallacy: When You Mistake Real Life for a Game - Use maximin reasoning for high-stakes, irreversible decisions under ambiguity
Choose the option whose worst plausible outcome is most survivable — when you can’t compute expected value, optimize the floor.
Ambiguity Aversion — Why Unknown Odds Feel Worse Than Bad Odds - Choose maximize or satisfice per decision
Reserve maximizing for the few high-stakes, lasting choices; satisfice the rest.
Satisficing vs. Maximizing: When “Good Enough” Wins - Change the metric you’re optimizing
Shift which outcome you measure and the problem often dissolves or transforms entirely.
Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First - Reduce opportunity-cost thinking
Stop calculating what every rejected option "costs" you — it amplifies regret for no gain.
Choice Overload, Made Practical - Adopt satisficing instead of maximizing
Set a "good enough" threshold before you search, then stop when you hit it.
Choice Overload, Made Practical - Use the 1/N rule for diversification under deep uncertainty
When you cannot estimate the value of each option reliably, spread resources equally.
Simple Heuristics: Gerd Gigerenzer’s Case for Fast and Frugal Thinking - Satisfice: set a good-enough threshold and stop searching when you hit it
Optimize for "good enough" rather than "best possible" — the search cost often exceeds the gain.
Simple Heuristics: Gerd Gigerenzer’s Case for Fast and Frugal Thinking - Optimize for avoiding stupidity, not brilliance
Munger: "It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid."
Inversion: Solve Problems Backward
Related concerns
- When To Optimize Decisions
In uncertain environments, prioritize options to pivot over optimized fixed positions.
Prefer positions with optionality over positions with precision
- Optimizing The Wrong Thing
Shift which outcome you measure and the problem often dissolves or transforms entirely.
Change the metric you’re optimizing
- Barry Schwartz Maximizing
Satisficing — a term coined by Herbert Simon — means choosing the first option that meets your criteria, while maximizing means searching for the best possible option. Research by Barry Schwartz and colleagues found that people who habitually maximize tend to make objectively slightly better choices yet report lower satisfaction, more regret, and worse well-being — so for most everyday decisions, "good enough" wins.
- Elimination Over Optimization
Optimize for "good enough" rather than "best possible" — the search cost often exceeds the gain.
Satisfice: set a good-enough threshold and stop searching when you hit it
- Gabriele Wulf Optimal Theory
External focus of attention — directing attention to the intended effect of a movement (where the ball goes, where force is applied) rather than to body mechanics — consistently outperforms internal focus for both skill learning and execution. Gabriele Wulf’s OPTIMAL theory proposes two mechanisms: external focus activates automatic motor control processes, and it enhances competence need satisfaction. Effect sizes in controlled experiments are moderate to large.
- Maximin Strategy Decision
Choose the option whose worst plausible outcome is most survivable — when you can’t compute expected value, optimize the floor.
Use maximin reasoning for high-stakes, irreversible decisions under ambiguity
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