The Illusion of Control Is Hurting Your Goals
A classic survivor test shows us the danger of abandoning your mission whenever things get uncomfortable
Let’s try something. Imagine you’ve just crash-landed somewhere in the Sonoran Desert, deep in the American Southwest. Though the aircraft is now a smoldering wreck, you miraculously survived uninjured, and now find yourself all alone as the sole survivor. Temperatures are topping 110 degrees, and you’re stranded.
Thankfully, you’ve managed to find a few supplies in the wreckage. But while some of the things are vital to your survival, others are useless. To stay alive until rescuers arrive, you must decide which among these items are most important:
- A loaded .45 caliber pistol
- A book titled Edible Plants and Animals of the Desert
- A bottle of salt
- 10 one-gallon jugs of water
- Red and white parachutes
- A compress kit with gauze
- Two quarts of brandy
- A sectional map of the area
- A flashlight
- A jackknife
- A topcoat
- A plastic raincoat
