The Benefits and Cost of Personal Change

I believe it is one of the universal human conditions that we all deal with making decisions that balance the viewed benefits of change with our imagined costs of those changes.

Humans (and maybe a few other species) can imagine possible futures that are better than today, and as a result, we think of changes that we think will make things better (by some measure we choose or accept), and we desire those changes to occur. So why don't we just make all those changes (at least the ones that we believe we have some control over)? Frequently, we don't because of a fear of the possible "cost" associated with the change. Why doesn't someone just go get a better job -- because they might not find one -- or because they can't afford to give up some benefit of the current job -- or because they would lose seniority -- or....

It is rare that anyone can truly know the exact consequences of choosing to do something or choosing not to do that thing. Our existence just isn't set up to allow us to know the future -- we can only use our best experience from the past, our intuition, our logic, and our gut-feel to pick one way or the other and live with it.

Oh, and don't fall into the trap of thinking you just won't decide -- inaction is just as much of a decision as action.

Best of skill and luck predicting the future, and may your benefits always outweigh your costs.