When you’re looking at making a major policy choice it’s easy to say, “It’s complicated”.
It’s easy to say because it’s true. There are dozens of small issues to be considered. Each small issue has its own pros and cons. Change one factor and it changes that single issue. Reach a conclusion about an issue and that decision affects all the other issues. The law of unintended consequences imposes itself. Rinse and repeat with each issue. The next thing you know: you’re confused; you realize it’s hard to understand and control every detail; and it’s complicated.
That is when it’s helpful to remind yourself of your original objective:
- What are you trying to do?
- What do you want to accomplish?
- What would be the ideal outcome?
If you can state your major policy choice around a simple objective, all the smaller issues become much simpler.
It takes Gumption to be able to see the big picture and make the many small choices necessary to meet your objective.
Do you have the Gumption to get past the complications?