No 7 Allowed

This post contains affiliate links that help supports this blog and cost you the exact same. If you do not wish to use affiliate links, then feel free to google the product.

Sometimes the simplest ideas have the largest impact on our life. Not allowing 7s has been one of those game-changers for me.

Whenever we are trying to rate something 1-10, we use the familiar 7 as a default. There is a real problem with this. The problem is, that the number 7 is completely meaningless. We feel comfortable with a 7, it’s good but not great, it’s not bad but good it’s a B. But what does this even mean? We use 7 how a 5 or 50% should really be used, as a middle-of-the-road, okay option.

We can avoid this trap with a simple tweak. Remove the 7. Whenever you need to rate something on a scale of 1-10, do not use 7. This simple change removes the noise and improves decision-making drastically. Just think about it, a 6 is barely a pass and would only be chosen when there are no other options. An 8 on the other hand, is pretty darn good and almost always worth our time.

We tend to use the 7 to protect ourselves from a real decision. Ask yourself how is your life going right now? My guess is it’s a 7. So what happens if we remove that option? If we admit something is really a 6, then it is pretty obvious that changes need to be made, but if we want something to be an 8 it will take real work to get there. No one wants to hire a 6, date a 6, or live a 6/10 life.

This works for all sorts of decisions.

Asking a friend about a restaurant. What would you rate the new pizza shop? 1-10?
Asking a server how the feature is tonight? 1-10?
Comparing two movie options?
Rating employee candidates?
How much do I feel like going out to dinner tonight?
Asking for a book recommendation?
How is my life currently going?

The little change of removing the 7 can be applied to many situations. It changes the rating from something non-committal to a go/no-go gauge. So ask yourself, if something is really a 6, how do I make it an 8?

Thank you, Tim Ferriss and Kyle Maynard for sharing this thought many years ago.