Value or Goals?

It’s a basic tenet of decision theory that one cannot make a decision unless one clarifies what are desirable outcomes. After all, if you don’t know what you want, then all choices are equal and there is no way to decide. Actually there’s no reason to decide and one should just go with the flow.

But I often confuse myself by mixing up values and goals. Values are broad an directional feelings about what’s important. And since some values are more important than others they are quantitative and scalable. Goals on the other hand are specific desired outcomes generally bound in time.

Goals are frequently artificial and often lead to bad decisions. For example, if my goal is to be on time to pick my son up at school, then I’ll chose to drive more aggressively. I can’t see which of my values supports that goal and the means to achieving it.

Author: James Vornov

I'm an MD, PhD Neurologist who left a successful academic career on the Faculty of The Johns Hopkins Medical School to develop new treatments in Biotech and Pharma. I became fascinated with how people actually make decisions based on the science of decision theory and emerging understanding of how the brain works to make decisions. My passion now is this deep explanation of what has been the realm of philosophy, psychology and self help but is now understood as brain function. By understanding our brains, I believe we can become happier, more successful people. View all posts by James Vornov