When asked which of the 2 houses young Anthony thinks the family should buy, he didn't even pause to think and blurted out: "The FIRST one!"

When asked why?

"Because you can't just buy a good climbing tree!"

The first house has this GREAT climbing tree right next to the house and a beautiful, large, level yard . . . a PERFECT play space for young children.

The other house had lots of stuff this one didn't . . . Lots more space INSIDE the house . . . a better floor plan . . . a pond . . . a barn . . . and many amenities the adults would put on their list of pros and cons.

Without question, the adults' logical thinking process would lead to choice of the other house because it stood head and shoulders above the first house because of all of the "noise" of special features.

Anthony saw through all of that and knew that he and his family would be HAPPIER in the first house with the great climbing tree and the perfect yard for he and his brothers and sisters to play in for years to come.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great book called "blink" which introduces a concept that he coins "thin slicing" . . . that we all have this cognitive ability to know (without being able to articulate HOW we know) certain things that help us make decisions.

Some folks call this "gut feelings" or "first instinct" . . .  

Most folks are uncomfortable acting on gut first instincts because they think it's too easy.

After all when making a decision of any real significance, shouldn't we turn over EVERY stone and consider ALL of options carefully lest we miss out on something better that might be just around the corner?

Ever heard: "A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush"?

or

the image of the dog with a bone in his mouth seeing his reflection in a pond and dropping the bone into the water in an effort to get that (apparently bigger and tastier bone) in the reflection?

It's not uncommon for a home Buyer to find their perfect house EARLY in the search process . . . sometimes even the FIRST house they walk into . . . and then because of the feeling of need to exhaust every possibility (and not miss out on something better) . . . They proceed to look at another 20 or so houses before returning to that first house and taking action (if it's still available).

There's a difference between thin slicing and impulsive action although they can look very similar. Buying on impulse is less "responsible" . . . that is, allowing marketing or glitzy features or fear of scarcity to cause someone to buy something without thinking . . . and thereby making a mistake. (adrenaline charged)

Thin slicing is deeper . . . It's that feeling you get when your gut tells you it's the RIGHT thing to do . . . and acting on that feeling without explanation.

Anthony knew from the start that the house with the great climbing tree was the best house for his family 6 months before the adults' rational, logical brains allowed them to come to the same conclusion.

Sometimes a sluggish market can be advantageous :-)

I'm just sayin'

best,

b