One of the mistakes we often make as individuals is seeing the world around us through binary states.

A few examples of this are classifying a project or your career as successful or failure, interpreting a person as good or bad, and seeing yourself as a writer or not.

While reducing the outcomes to binary states simplifies things and makes decisions easier, they often oversimplify things and lack the full picture.

For example, a project you worked on might not have ticked all the metrics you set initially. Does that make the project a complete failure?

Probably, no.

Although you haven't met your targets, the project might still have progressed. In fact, it might've been halfway there.

Going with a binary decision makes us miss the project's potential because it wasn't completely successful, therefore scrapping it altogether.

The same goes with the people around us.

Immediately classifying a person as good or bad based on one interaction or disagreement robs us of a potentially meaningful connection.

Although the person doesn't subscribe to the same views as yours, you might still have common ground, like hobbies, sports or even your profound love for a music band.

Similarly, you might've considered starting a blog on your favourite topic but have held back because you're "not a writer".

I've had many such moments, decisions and interactions where I've let this binary bias cloud my judgment.

It may be doing the same for you, too.

So, the next time you're about to make an oversimplified decision, ask yourself:

"Am I seeing the full picture, or am I boxing myself into a binary bias?"

The answer to this question might help you unearth promising projects at work, develop meaningful relationships and even see yourself in a new light.

Try it.

Now, before you move on to the rest of this newsletter issue, here are a few words from: