The Abilene Paradox

Most often your first instinct or intuition about something or someone is right. Yet, although we know that something or someone is not right for us, we go ahead and do it, or enter into a relationship anyway. Why do we do that? Why do we go against our basic intincts? In one of my college business classes this was called the 'Abilene Paradox'.

A couple was enjoying a relaxing hot afternoon on the front porch of their farm house playing cards with his parents. They had a big pitcher of leomonade and everything was cool. Then someone mentioned that maybe they should drive into Abilene(Texas), some 25 miles away, for ice cream. None of the four really wanted to do it, but each said they would go along if the group really wanted to. The next thing they knew they had piled into their car and were off to Abilene for ice cream. On the way back the car air conditioner went out, the car over-heated forcing them to pull over on the side of the highway and stand in the blazing sun for several hours while the car cooled down. When they finally got back to the house they were miserable, irratated at each other, thirsty, and exhausted. They had allowed themselves to do something that initially nobody wanted to do. They had left the comfort of the porch and turned it into disaster.

The moral of the story is to follow your first instinct. Chances are you were right.

Submitted by: CKC (Sr.)