How Much is that Dinner Worth?

I wrote last week about reframing my experience dodging a hurricane in San Diego. But I felt the need to dive a little deeper into my decision, because my initial reasoning was, well, unreasonable.

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My original plan was to fly into San Diego on Thursday and leave Sunday morning. After seeing the weather reports, I changed my flight to Saturday night. After further weather reports, I ended up driving home Saturday midday.?

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But my initial thought was to resist the change. You know why?

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I had dinner plans Saturday night.

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Well, more specifically, I had purchased the dinners as part of the conference, and they are always adelicious, all you can eat buffet of some of my favorite foods. And Saturday night was Cheeseburger Casserole night.

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CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE!

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Part of my calculus on leaving early or staying partly included if I would miss dinner, and thus miss out on the socializing, food, and sunk cost of what I had already paid for.

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The lectures and speakers? I could watch those later, but there was no “To Go” box for dinner.

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And so with my decision, and any decision you are trying to make, I think it is wise to look at the upsides, as well as the downsides.

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For me, the upsides were a delicious dinner, socializing, seeing lectures in person, and possibly having a cool story to tell about being in a hurricane (which is something that living in Tucson will likely keep me from ever experiencing),?

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Of course, the downsides were significant: getting stranded in San Diego without food or power, flooding, and, at the very worst of a natural disaster, putting my life in jeopardy (dramatic, I know).?

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On top of those downsides, leaving my wife and three kids for any extended time would have been an excessive burden on my wife.

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In the end, I acknowledge that I went a less adventurous route and left early. And in an ironic twist, both my original, and Saturday evening flights left on time. But such is the season of life I am in: it is not about me, but about those who depend on me.

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But we have all made the wrong end of these decision before: opening a credit card for a t-shirt, overstuffing ourselves at the all you can eat buffet to get the maximum value, or staying just a little too long at an amusement park with kids to “make the most” of the time and money investment only to see things end in a meltdown.??

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There’s no reason to feel shame or embarrassment, but use these experiences to learn for the next time. Look at your own upside versus downside, and hopefully you will be able to make the best decision for yourself.

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But also, those that count on you.?

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Even if it means no Cheeseburger Casserole.

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