← All readings

Idea · From the Margen catalogue

Flip a coin (then ignore it)

The trick isn't the randomness. It's the second the coin spends in the air.

If you're truly torn between two options — the new job or the old one, staying or moving, saying it or keeping quiet — assign heads to one, tails to the other, and toss. While it spins, listen to yourself: almost always you'll notice a small, crystal-clear wish for one side to come up. And if, when it lands, you feel a sting of disappointment, there you have it: you've just found your answer, the one you carried inside, buried under the list of pros and cons.

The coin decides nothing. It only forces you to imagine, for an instant, that the decision has already been made — and in that dress rehearsal your preference comes out of hiding. Which is why the end of the trick matters: pick up the coin, put it away, and do what you felt, not what came up.