The Law of Unintended Consequences
I have been pondering choice quite a bit recently. Choice drives so much of our life, and how we experience it, and our recognition of our choices has much to do with our acceptance of it. Tonight though, the Law of Unintended Consequences comes to mind, and I want to try to capture some thoughts about it.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, according to Sir Isaac Newton. Every choice has consequences and ramifications, which in my mind correlates to the economic concept of opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is defined as the choice not accepted, or that which we forgo for the choice we have made. However, each choice has a trickle-down effect, and we often are not cognizant of that effect.
I bring as an example a co-worker. This co-worker and I have historically disagreed and had significant conflict. The central core of our disagreement is that while he means well, and is very passionate about the same things I am, he has limited awareness of the trickle-down effect of his actions and decisions. For example, in establishing a needed customer portal, he did not put any thought into who would have to perform the long-term maintenance of that portal, nor the cost associated with it. The Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in, and now our firm has to support a portal that should have been charged to the customer, and we have to do it at our own cost, because it was not negotiated with the customer.
This same concept applies to relationships, which is another hot topic on my mind. Say I am interested in someone. Say she is not interested in me at this time. Say someone else is interested in me, but I am less interested in her than the first woman. This trickle-down effect has an unintended consequence of making a number of people unhappy because we were looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Ultimately, we will all go and complain to someone else about how miserable dating is, but never acknowledge the opportunity cost we passed up because we were focused on an (at that time) unattainable goal. The Law of Unintended Consequences says that we did not intend to cause this chain reaction of disappointment, and yet our choices created that chain and maintained it for some period of time.
Is it possible to always be cognizant of the chain reaction of our choices? No. Is it reasonable to be concerned about the full effects of the Law in every decision? No. However, when it comes to important decisions, particularly where there are ramifications with friends and acquaintances that we care about, we should at least consider the consequences that inevitably arise.
Where do you stand on this? Are you cognizant of the Law, or is it a new concept to you? How does this apply to your own life?
I go back to where I was on an earlier post on my blog about two years ago. The Platinum Rule, which overrides the Golden Rule in my mind. Do unto others as they would have done unto them. Think about what they want, and become a servant leader. See how this fits with a life led by integrity, cognizant of the Law of Unintended Consequences, and aware of, and considerate of, others' needs. A little more of this, and the world would be a much happier, much more peaceful, place.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, according to Sir Isaac Newton. Every choice has consequences and ramifications, which in my mind correlates to the economic concept of opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is defined as the choice not accepted, or that which we forgo for the choice we have made. However, each choice has a trickle-down effect, and we often are not cognizant of that effect.
I bring as an example a co-worker. This co-worker and I have historically disagreed and had significant conflict. The central core of our disagreement is that while he means well, and is very passionate about the same things I am, he has limited awareness of the trickle-down effect of his actions and decisions. For example, in establishing a needed customer portal, he did not put any thought into who would have to perform the long-term maintenance of that portal, nor the cost associated with it. The Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in, and now our firm has to support a portal that should have been charged to the customer, and we have to do it at our own cost, because it was not negotiated with the customer.
This same concept applies to relationships, which is another hot topic on my mind. Say I am interested in someone. Say she is not interested in me at this time. Say someone else is interested in me, but I am less interested in her than the first woman. This trickle-down effect has an unintended consequence of making a number of people unhappy because we were looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Ultimately, we will all go and complain to someone else about how miserable dating is, but never acknowledge the opportunity cost we passed up because we were focused on an (at that time) unattainable goal. The Law of Unintended Consequences says that we did not intend to cause this chain reaction of disappointment, and yet our choices created that chain and maintained it for some period of time.
Is it possible to always be cognizant of the chain reaction of our choices? No. Is it reasonable to be concerned about the full effects of the Law in every decision? No. However, when it comes to important decisions, particularly where there are ramifications with friends and acquaintances that we care about, we should at least consider the consequences that inevitably arise.
Where do you stand on this? Are you cognizant of the Law, or is it a new concept to you? How does this apply to your own life?
I go back to where I was on an earlier post on my blog about two years ago. The Platinum Rule, which overrides the Golden Rule in my mind. Do unto others as they would have done unto them. Think about what they want, and become a servant leader. See how this fits with a life led by integrity, cognizant of the Law of Unintended Consequences, and aware of, and considerate of, others' needs. A little more of this, and the world would be a much happier, much more peaceful, place.
Powered by ScribeFire.
posted by Strycher @ 01:50
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home