No Free Book
I have been using my Chicago Public Library card to rent Kindle Books recently. I have been surprised by how much more of an enjoyable experience this has been than when I purchase books via Amazon. Since the book is borrowed for a short amount of time, it forces me to put in the effort to read it. Furthermore, I find myself more willing to move on if I don’t like the book or skip sections I don’t find appealing. I feel like this is because the book is free from the library. I guess when I purchase via Amazon I fall into the Sunk Cost Fallacy. Because I have spent money on the book, I am trying too hard to get the most value out of it. I devour every line and refuse to “skip steps” to make the purchase worth it.
This has made me realize that I make this mistake not just with books, but almost everything. Too often, I am trying to capture the total value of things and am too often asking the question “was this worth it?”. There is certainly a time for reflection but this should not happen during the actual experience. I need to free myself of these thoughts and fully immerse myself in whatever I am experiencing. Paradoxically, this will make me enjoy the experience more and get more value out of it.
Weirdly, I feel like I have had this not great habit my whole life. Even as I have amassed more wealth, I still find myself asking these questions. I feel it relates strongly to my constant desire to improve my decision making process. Reflecting on your decisions is an important part of this process. But, I need to respect the cycle of decision -> thing -> reflection, and not start reflecting too soon. And also maybe reflect a little less. With some things, there is just little to be learned or not many benefits from optimizing. It is better to just keep moving on.