The Lady, or the Tiger

The Lady, or the Tiger is one of the most classic decision stories, written by Frank Stockton. Click on the title of this post to link to the complete story. I always find it enjoyable. Feel free to recast the details of the story to suit your situation if you are female, gay, or other. The point is that there are some circumstances when you will be faced with a decision which requires a quick decision; where that decision will have enormous potential consequences for you; and where you have very little information to favor one choice over the other. In this story the lover's life depended on whether his trust in the princess was justified. Apparently he thought it was, because he did not hesitate to follow her lead. Isn't this the case in many of the decisions we face? You have the choice of deciding based upon your own thoughts and instincts (internally directed), or you might choose to depend on input from someone or something else (externally directed).