How to predict romantic attraction?

What are the better ways to predict life outcomes and the satisfaction that they may provide?

• Hello. I was just thinking about two problems that we all face. 1.- How could you predict what decisions would lead to the better possible outcomes in life? 2.- How could you predict the level of satisfaction that certain outcomes would actually provide? In asking so, it seems obvious that no simple definition of "better outcomes" is easy to achieve. However, considering that such a term may vary for different people, I think that the only thing that would remain invariant across them is that it would be related to goals and objectives. Assuming that, I consider that the best possible decissions would be the ones that can fulfill to the better posible extent those goals and objectives. I also think that, unless someone has one and only one objective, a compromise in the level of fulfillment of the objectives is necessary, that is to say that it's not possible to fully achieve success in every possible goal (for example, if someone is interested in art, business and say, a family, there is a trade-off in the resources that can be devoted to each goal, at the very least in terms of time) so some sort of distribution of resources is necessary. How to predict what decissions would lead to the optimal level of fulfillment of the various goals one have? Regarding the other question, it seems to me that sometimes the actual satisfaction due to successes does not always corresponds to the predicted satisfaction one subjectively assumes the successes will provide. Assuming that, if the decissions are taken in order to maximize the satisfaction, it's very important to have good estimates of how intense those satisfactions would be. How to predict them as accurately as possible? If we had an infinite number of lives, then the solution could be easily obtained after enough "life experiments" but we don't have such a possibility and basically we all decide under uncertainty. Uncertainty about the outcomes that would result from decissions and even uncertainty about the actual satisfaction that would result from those outcomes. We are limited to decide in the present (and most likely based on our present view of the world and our present objectives), even if our goals may change, but not knowing if they will or not. I think that one cannot help but to decide based on the present goals and in accordance with the present view of the world. Do you think there is a good way to predict the outcomes of decisions and the satisfaction associated with them? How do you take important decissions that you know will have important consequences? Do you take into account the satisfaction and feelings that you expect will derive from decissions? And finally, changes in our own goals and world views can be predicted?

• Answer:

  The best decisions: 1) Align with your current values and priorities. 2) Consider multiple alternatives. 3) Use outside objective perspectives to help avoid bias. Decisions are not closed systems - they change the world around you, they change you and your perspective of the world, and you can always make a new decision. So thinking about optimal decisions based on outcomes is not a very useful way to decide, for the reasons you describe (e.g. we only live one life, our priorities may change, etc.). Instead, it is most important to make decisions based on a clear view of the world and our priorities as they are now, since the alternative of making a decision based on a biased and inaccurate view is much less likely to give your future self the results you will want. http://www.cloverpop.com is designed to help with that process, give it a try.