Caryn Reddick: Success Statement

I have learned to love San Francisco. I made my first visit to “the City” in the late 1990s, before I moved to the Bay Area. I loved many things about it: the views, the people, the diversity, the food. But I never thought I would want to live near it. I tended to notice its flaws. It seemed dirty, old, and overly eccentric.

Slowly, that view has softened. Yesterday as I was wandering around the City, the reason for my change of heart occurred to me:  San Francisco is a pretty good representation of my decision-making philosophy.

Here are a few things that San Francisco can teach us about good decision making:

1. Make your own decisions.

San Francisco is a place where there really is no sense of normal. How do you define “normal” when everyone is so darn different? In the City, everyone does what they want to do without a lot of concern for what others think. It is a good place to “be yourself”.  Do what YOU want to do, not what anyone else wants you to do… unless that is what you want to do.

2. Live and let live

Nothing surprises me in San Francisco. Seriously. It is a place where a person can walk around naked and nobody seems to notice. People live and let live. That is true of good decision making, too. Make decisions that are right for you, and let other people make their own decisions. Mind your own business.

3. Sometimes there isn’t a direct path

I’ve been to San Francisco probably 100 times, but I still can’t find my way around. Part of the problem is that I am geographically challenged. But the other problem is that there really is no direct way to get anywhere. Even a major highway  (US 101) meanders, curves, and detours its way through the City as if it was a series of unconnected side roads. The good news is that I often see a lot of cool, beautiful (or at least interesting) things along the way. Often, I never actually find what I was looking for. Likewise, sometimes one decision will lead to another, and then another, and it will seem like you aren’t really making progress. But as long as you are enjoying the ride, it doesn’t really matter what the destination is.

4. Talking to yourself isn’t always bad

After observing yet another homeless person wandering down the street talking to himself, I wondered: Is talking to yourself necessarily bad? Obviously, talking to yourself can be a sign of real mental illnesses, but can’t it also be a way to think through problems and come to good decisions? What is so different about thinking through your problems silently and actually saying what you are thinking out loud? Food for thought…

5. Sometimes you have to disagree

San Francisco is known for being a place where dissent is not only accepted, it is expected. This can be annoying when a group of protesters is blocking your way to dinner, but it is actually an important reminder. Sometimes, you will need to disagree with those closest to you, and it might really annoy them. Making good decisions is about doing what is right for you, not necessarily what is popular.

How about you? What does your city tell you about your decision making philosophy?

Filed under: Decision Making Tagged: | San Francisco