Concept
Tripwires
A tripwire is a condition set in advance, a date or a number, that forces you to revisit a decision. It exists because once you decide, autopilot takes over, and the moment a decision should be reconsidered never announces itself.
The Heaths observe that people rarely revisit decisions because nothing prompts them to; the branch keeps losing money a little longer, the job keeps being tolerable. A tripwire is the prompt: if the branch is not breaking even by month nine, we review; if I still dread Mondays in six months, I look elsewhere; if the shares fall twenty percent, I sell. It does not make the later decision for you; it makes sure there is a later. And it lets you commit fully now, because you know when you will check. Tripwires also guard against quitting too early, by giving permission to ignore doubts until the date.
A real-life example
A new hire takes a role with a six-month review written into his acceptance. When his manager cancels meetings in week three, he notes it and keeps going; the review date, not the bad week, is when the decision is reopened.
How to use it
- 1Before committing, write one condition and one date on which you will review.
- 2Put the date in your calendar when you decide, not later.
- 3Until the tripwire, commit fully; after it, decide again honestly.