{"id":121591,"date":"2024-01-24T15:11:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T19:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=121591"},"modified":"2024-01-26T15:36:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T19:36:48","slug":"satisficing-model-of-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How does perfectionism go against our unconscious mind<\/a>? How do we innately seek safety and minimize failure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Alchemy<\/em>, Rory Sutherland suggests that to solve economic and political problems, we should leverage people\u2019s illogical\u2014and even magical\u2014ways of thinking. One of these is our unconscious desire<\/a> to go with whatever works rather than the best possible solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn about the satisficing model of decision-making<\/a> and how to make it work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One puzzle piece of the mind that you can leverage when trying to influence people is our unconscious preference for safety over perfection. Much of economics relies on the assumption that, when faced with a problem, people work toward a \u201cbest possible solution,\u201d but the human brain doesn\u2019t operate that way. Instead, the mind seeks out solutions that are likely <\/em>to work while minimizing the possibility of failure.<\/strong> It\u2019s a subtle distinction best phrased by the truism, \u201cPerfect is the enemy of good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sutherland’s discussion of the satisficing model of decision-making, he explores how the unconscious mind veers away from reason to deal with uncertainty<\/a>, what form this takes in a practical sense, and how the brain\u2019s desire for a \u201cwhatever works\u201d solution can be used as a tool for persuasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Logical problem-solving works within the confines of well-defined problems where everything comes down to a handful of easily quantifiable variables. In real life, though, every decision involves uncertainty, which makes logical decision-making<\/a> exponentially more difficult. However, our brains cope with uncertainty far better than any mathematical model. Sutherland contends that, in decision-making, reducing uncertainty is our unconscious goal.<\/strong> Rational optimization is impossible in a dark and scary world of unknowns. So, instead, our brains try to be mostly <\/em>right while reducing the odds of being catastrophically wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: According to game theory, the satisficing approach to problem-solving isn\u2019t as irrational as Sutherland implies. In Thinking in Bets<\/em><\/a>, poker expert Annie Duke explains that since life is full of uncertainty<\/a>\u2014and therefore a significant amount of random chance\u2014most decisions you make aren\u2019t either right or wrong, but exist on a spectrum from poor to pretty good<\/a>. Even in conscious decision-making, Duke argues that measuring and reducing uncertainty should be one of your principal goals so that you can increase your odds <\/em>of success.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A World of Trade-Offs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One common way we protect ourselves from a world of uncertainty is to reframe a problem so that, instead of asking the obvious question\u2014such as, \u201cWhat\u2019s the most efficient way to grow as much food as possible?\u201d\u2014we ask an alternate question that\u2019s easier to answer, such as \u201cWhat\u2019s the safest way to grow something <\/em>so that I won\u2019t starve in case of a disaster?\u201d Most of the time, we\u2019re not consciously aware of the alternate questions that guide our decisions; therefore, Sutherland writes, these unconscious questions make many of our conscious decisions seem irrational. However, if you identify people\u2019s unconscious needs, you can address them directly<\/strong> in ways that you\u2019ll find are much more persuasive than dry, analytical logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Behavioral psychologist Daniel Kahneman<\/a> identified the unconscious substitution of easy questions for hard ones as an automatic process the brain uses to conserve energy and speed up decision-making. In Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Kahneman writes that automatic processes such as these operate so quickly that we\u2019re not even aware of them<\/a>. Our brains learn these mental tricks through a lifetime of experience, but because they rely on generalizations and approximations, our automatic thoughts<\/a> are prone to error. Unfortunately, Kahneman says that the conscious mind accepts unconscious judgments at face value<\/a>, a weakness that Sutherland suggests can be exploited.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People expect life to be messy and that every decision will involve a trade-off. Sutherland says that, to win people\u2019s minds, you should play into that expectation, even if \u201creason\u201d suggests otherwise. If you\u2019re selling a product or an idea that\u2019s objectively better than the alternatives, present it as a trade-off anyway. We\u2019re wired to believe that everything has a downside, so build a narrative<\/a> as to why that\u2019s the case,<\/strong> even if doing so involves some distortion. If you admit to imperfection while minimizing people\u2019s feelings of uncertainty, you\u2019ll be speaking to the unconscious mind\u2019s happy place. According to Sutherland, that\u2019s the magic to making sales<\/a>, winning votes, and changing behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Sutherland\u2019s advice to acknowledge a downside, even at times when none exists, goes against the grain of all the literature in praise of positive thinking<\/a>. But, to the unconscious mind, positivity isn\u2019t the default setting. In The Happiness Trap<\/em><\/a>, Russ Harris explains that, since the brain evolved for survival, we\u2019re primed to watch for threats and plan for the worst.<\/a> Although these adaptations have outlived their usefulness, if you try to suppress them, you\u2019re going to have a bad time<\/a>. Acknowledging and accepting the negatives in life can be a healthier approach than denying them, and to Sutherland\u2019s point, it\u2019s also more honest.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How does perfectionism go against our unconscious mind? How do we innately seek safety and minimize failure? In Alchemy, Rory Sutherland suggests that to solve economic and political problems, we should leverage people\u2019s illogical\u2014and even magical\u2014ways of thinking. One of these is our unconscious desire to go with whatever works rather than the best possible solution. Keep reading to learn about the satisficing model of decision-making and how to make it work for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":121599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,104,9],"tags":[1379],"class_list":["post-121591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-marketing","category-psychology","tag-alchemy","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unconsciously, we tend to go with what's likely to work\u2014not the best possible solution. Learn about the satisficing model of decision-making.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unconsciously, we tend to go with what's likely to work\u2014not the best possible solution. Learn about the satisficing model of decision-making.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-24T19:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-26T19:36:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-24T19:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-26T19:36:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\"},\"wordCount\":866,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Alchemy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economics\",\"Marketing\",\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\",\"name\":\"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-24T19:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-26T19:36:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Unconsciously, we tend to go with what's likely to work\u2014not the best possible solution. Learn about the satisficing model of decision-making.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"A man trying to make a decision\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making - Shortform Books","description":"Unconsciously, we tend to go with what's likely to work\u2014not the best possible solution. Learn about the satisficing model of decision-making.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making","og_description":"Unconsciously, we tend to go with what's likely to work\u2014not the best possible solution. Learn about the satisficing model of decision-making.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2024-01-24T19:11:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-26T19:36:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making","datePublished":"2024-01-24T19:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-26T19:36:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/"},"wordCount":866,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png","keywords":["Alchemy"],"articleSection":["Economics","Marketing","Psychology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/","name":"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png","datePublished":"2024-01-24T19:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-26T19:36:48+00:00","description":"Unconsciously, we tend to go with what's likely to work\u2014not the best possible solution. Learn about the satisficing model of decision-making.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"A man trying to make a decision"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/satisficing-model-of-decision-making\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Whatever Works: The Satisficing Model of Decision-Making"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/making-a-decision.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121591"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121726,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121591\/revisions\/121726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}