Bon Journal

A clutter of options never exercised

Sitting in my mess, all those treasured objects of desire and memory, I suddenly see a pattern of behaviour.

I collect options which I never exercise.

What is the point of collecting options if you never exercise them?

You pay a premium for an option. If you don't exercise the option, you don't get a payback.

I am fooled to think that the options I've been collecting have been free. Gifts, free give-aways, leftovers --- these are free options but they take up space. In a house with limited space, keeping these options means paying the cost of storage, or the opportunity cost of putting something else in its place.

All these technical books that were worth gold at one time, now they are just expensive paper bound together. "What use is information if you don't do anything with it?" Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. These books were valuable when I needed them.

Clothes. I took out a checkered Jaeger suit that was too big for me when I bought it on sale many years ago. I kept it in hopes that it would fit me when I got older. With great anticipation, I tried on the jacket and skirt. They were too small. What happened?

Nail polish. Different shades of red. Orange. Blue. Lime green. How is it humanly possible to paint my nails different colours when I only notice my nail colour twice a year --- in the summer when it's warm enough to show my toes in sandals.

My attic is a haven for that clutter of options never exercised, things I collected over the years with the expectation that I'd need them one day. That one day never came.

20 February 2004 Friday

Related links:

Decision analysis

Options translated

Derivatives table

Flexibility book

Decluttering and letting go of clutter, Le Bon Journal newsletter, Vol 2 Issue 8, 2 page PDF