It can be hard to change your mind once you’ve made a decision. But doubling down on a commitment isn’t always the most beneficial thing. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss how to change your mind, the role of commitment bias, and the value of considering alternatives.
Discussion topics include:
- Janine’s car-shopping frustrations
- The car Janine wants to buy (because Shannon has one): A new Nissan Leaf electric car
- Janine’s commitment to her decision to buy this car
- The idea that Janine might be smart to consider changing her mind on this, since the car isn’t readily available
- Commitment bias, our tendency to stick with a decision after we’ve committed to something even in the face of conflicting evidence
- Stepping back from the commitment to consider whether the decision is still a good one
- The fallacy of sunk cost as a reason to stick with something
- The difficulty of changing your mind when people are aware of the decision that you made
- How Fear of Missing Out factors into Janine’s car-shopping experience
- Giving yourself the space to consider all the things that are going through your mind when you make a decision
- Questions to ask yourself when you’re considering changing your mind
- The value of considering alternatives
- How the pandemic forced us to consider all sorts of alternatives
- How perfectionism can make changing your mind particularly difficult
- Cultivating more curiosity about trying new things
Update from Janine: Just three days after recording this episode, I found a 2022 Nissan Leaf! It was in Kansas City (four hours from St. Louis) and I was able to take the train there and drive it home. I love it just as much as I expected to!
Links:
- Definition of commitment bias
- Episode 149: Making Thoughtful Choices in which we discuss Shannon’s car-buying decision-making process
- Janine’s blog post about buying and selling a car during this crazy time
