Hindsight bias is a real thing. Catching ourselves in situations involving stuff like “Of course it was going to rain, I should have stayed home!” too often, it wouldn’t be surprising to think that we’re too harsh on ourselves when it comes to putting 2 and two together and predicting the outcome of supposedly deterministic events. It is applicable to nearly everything, methinks.

“Given the circumstances…” is probably a good way of rationalizing our past and justifying some actions since it provides a means of escape from self-bashing. Especially in these times of a global pandemic, even the simplest of things seem a bit difficult to perform. Like, say, taking a bus. Or going for a walk without some sense of anxiety lurking in the corridors of the mind. Given the circumstances, it’s okay to think so, and it’s not really ludicrous to restrict some behaviours that’d put people at risk.

But this is just one example. A few more and then the idea doesn’t really sound alien.

Given the circumstances, picking this door seemed fine.

Given the circumstances, it was okay to take a break and relax for a few days.

Given the circumstances, an angry outburst wasn’t really improbable.

Given the circumstances, it was okay to book an expensive flight ticket for home.

Given the circumstances, no decision is a bad decision, really.

It’s so easy to justify with the power of hindsight what could have been the best choice in any situation. Maybe logging what options lie ahead when a difficult/major decision is just around the corner - and then after some time has passed, and the outcome of the decision notwithstanding - looking back and reading what was logged would probably yield some powerful insights about ourselves and provide a sense of perspective and ease. There’s always something to learn from decisions, and our decision-making process can certainly be improved with enough situations. Learning is really important though.

There’s a fine balance between forgiving ourselves for not predicting future events correctly, and leaving ourselves at the mercy of destiny. Now, where that balance lies, is another subjective matter altogether…