The Almanack of Naval Ravikant summary

There are seven billion people on our planet.

Thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to get to know anyone anywhere on Earth. That’s a lot of potential mates, friends, and business partners.

Work has also changed in the digital era. Today, there are thousands of jobs open to pretty much anyone with an internet connection.

In short, modern society is full of options, which means there are countless answers to questions like whom you should marry, where you should live, and which career you should pursue.

So how do you get these calls right? Well, it helps if you’re applying the right principles when you make important decisions.

The key message here is: If you’re unsure about a decision, then the answer is no.

The human brain isn’t wired to cope with option-rich environments. Blame it on evolution.

Our ancestors evolved in small tribes and their lives were defined by scarcity. Finding a partner, for example, wasn’t a question of romance or shared values – it was about availability. Work was also a question of necessity. Your job was to find enough food to keep you and your kin alive for another day.

This evolutionary legacy is a problem in today’s world. When it comes to big decisions, it’s easy to get locked in for a long time. Starting a relationship might commit you to a project that lasts five years or more. Deciding to move cities and accept a particular job can alter the course of your entire career. Make the wrong calls and you’re looking at a lot of wasted time.

In other words, these kinds of decisions have long-term consequences, and you need to get them right. That’s why it pays to apply a simple heuristic – that is, a rule of thumb that helps make sense of a problem. This heuristic states that if you’re unsure, then the answer is always no.

Of course, you can’t know the future, so you can never be fully certain that, say, agreeing to marry someone or buying a certain house is the right option. The point, however, is to trust your doubts. If you find yourself staring at a spreadsheet with pro and con columns, or creating elaborate checks and balances, you already have your answer: no.

It’s a straightforward rule, but it’s highly effective. Best of all, it can save you years of hardship and regret.