Making Better Decisions in 2014

Janaury 2014
By Dr. Daryl Green
Can we afford to make the same decisions this year? While politicians and media pundits seize the opportunity of each life-changing event, families seek to make the best of a struggling economy. According to the latest government job report this month, just 74,000 more people were employed in December versus 205,000 expected by USA Today's survey of 37 economists.
Life will become tougher for job seekers as globalization sweeps down on country after country. For some countries, they will become industry leaders while others will fade into the night of obscurity. Many Americans are retreating from the workforce, causing the unemployment rate to fall to 6.7% in December. In fact, only 62.8% of the adult population is participating in the labor market now; participation rates relate to those individuals who have employment or those actively seeking employment. Heidi Shierholz, an Economic Policy Institute economist, explains: "We're going to have a long-term unemployment crisis for a long time." This current low participation in the job market matches the lowest level since 1978.
Sadly, many folks fail to understand the consequences of their decisions. For example, Vanessa Williams was one of these fallen Hollywood icons. In 1983, Williams became the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss America. However, her immediate success was short-lived due to a scandal. Consequently, Williams was forced to relinquish her title; she probably did not think her youthful deed would come back and wreck her dreams.
Yet, the consequences not only damaged Williams but her family, friends, and millions of her fans. Nobel Prize author Albert Camus once noted, "Life is the sum of all your choices." In spite of all wise counsel, some people seem to have a knack for making poor decisions.
Sadly, many poor decisions have unforeseen impacts. Nancy Cavender and Howard Kahane, authors of Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric, argue for better decision making under this financial crisis: "Now, more than ever, we need to think critically about the world we live in and the decisions we make." They point to the dire consequences of poor decision making. In fact, these circumstances often can be traced back to a root cause. The Law of Unintended Consequences relates to any purposeful action that will generate unintended consequences. This law can be categorized into several areas: (a) a positive unexpected benefit called serendipity, (b) a negative effect which is contrary to the original intention, and (c) a potential source of problems which is commonly referred to as Murphy's Law.
Like Murphy's Law, some decisions may appear to afflict some people as if their lives are cursed. Making the right decision is a difficult process. No one will applaud your many good decisions; however, you will probably catch heat over the bad ones. In fact, every person, regardless of their background or social standing, can benefit from good decision-making techniques. In this life, most people make decisions to the best of their abilities. When various things happen, especially bad ones, individuals must be ready to deal with them. Therefore, understanding unintended consequences can assist in helping us make better decisions for the future.
© 2014 by Daryl D. Green