Are you optimizing for feelings or outcomes?

Some decisions and actions optimize how they make us feel in the moment, while some optimize the outcomes they achieve.

I like comparing them with food: some decisions are like pastry, and some are like supplements.

Food will change your feelings and outcomes

I often talk to friends about food and health. Health conversations about food usually revolve around feelings and outcomes.

Broccoli? Good outcomes, bad feelings. Sugar? Good feelings, bad outcomes.

The difference between feelings and outcomes is evident in the supplement and baking industries. In both cases, humans are manipulating food to optimize for something.

If you've ever taken supplements, you know that when we say a particular supplement tastes good, we don't really mean it. All we mean is that it's palatable enough to be consistently ingested.

On the other hand, when we say a particular pastry tastes good, we mean it's a treat to our senses and melts in our mouths. Yum!

For example, I take creatine daily, a particularly beneficial supplement for vegans. To quote the Mayo Clinic's article on creatine:

Your body stores creatine as phosphocreatine primarily in your muscles, where it's used for energy. As a result, people take creatine orally to improve athletic performance and increase muscle mass.[..] People who have low levels of creatine — such as vegetarians — appear to benefit most from creatine supplements.

Of course, if you've ever taken creatine, you know it tastes like baby powder in water. But you take creatine because you're optimizing for its outcomes, not the feelings caused by its taste.

Nobody takes creatine because they like drinking wet baby powder.

What are you optimizing?

In the book Hell Yeah or No, Derek Sivers has a provocative section called "Why are you doing?" in which he urges us to decide what we're optimizing for and then let go of the other goals.

It’s crucial to know why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Most people don’t know. They just go with the flow.[..] For example, if you want to make a lot of money, you need to admit that. If you want to be famous, you need to pursue that. If you want freedom and no responsibilities, or want to learn as much as possible, or whatever else, you need to realize it and embrace it.
Whatever you decide, you need to optimize for that goal, and be willing to let go of the others.
You can’t diffuse your energy, trying to do a little bit of everything, or you’ll always be in conflict with yourself.

Derek Sivers. Hell Yeah or No (Kindle Location 158). Hit Media. Kindle Edition.

Food can make us feel good or help us achieve better results, but if you're optimizing for one of those, you have to choose the right food. No supplement tastes as good as a pastry.

Many decisions and actions in life have a similar dichotomy: we're either manipulating them for feelings, like a pastry, or for outcomes, like a supplement.

Ask yourself: Is this a pastry or a supplement?

Because our feelings drive many of our actions, acting based on outcomes alone is hard. That's fine.

The point is not that you need to give up the pastries of life altogether. Life is made of both types of decisions:

• Going to the gym? The doctor? Reading a book? – Supplement.
• Going to a restaurant? The theater? Watching TV? – Pastry.

So before you act, clarify what you're optimizing for and whether your action aligns with it. Are you doing it for feelings or outcomes?

And if it helps, keep this metaphor in mind and use it before your actions and decisions:

"Pastry or supplement?"