leadership dot #2117: detour

Due to road construction by my house, I must endure a five-mile detour every time I go anywhere for the next three months. The alternate route takes me around to access the city from a different direction than I normally use so I have been relying more on GPS to navigate my trips.

For the past several destinations, I have pondered whether I should go via Route A or Route B and decided to check the Maps app to provide the answer. What I have learned is that there is no appreciable difference. On several occasions, both Route A and Route B have plotted out at the same amount of time, and even Route C may be just a minute or two longer.

I think we spend a lot of time and create undue stress for ourselves by debating over things that do not matter. Seth Godin recently wrote: “Choices don’t have to be decisions.”

Or, as my mom used to say: “Six of one, half a dozen of the other.”

If the difference in your choice is negligible, do not spend any of your energy making the decision. Save your brain power for where there is a perceptible difference to be made.