Don’t Miss Out on the Benefits of Pets
We tend to picture energetic dogs and cats thriving in young families with children, but animals are often happy to live with older, less active adults. These kinds of homes are especially suited to older animals that might otherwise have to spend their last days in the pound. Depending on your schedule and mobility, you might not want to adopt a large dog. But small lap dogs, cuddly cats, and even birds can make a great addition to your home. As long as you do not suffer from allergies, having a pet can be great for your health. The American Heart Association says pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, may be linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers found evidence to support this claim when they discovered that registered dog owners in Sweden had lower rates of cardiovascular disease and a lower risk of death than individuals without dogs. Physical fitness is far from the only benefit of pet ownership. The love and companionship our animal friends offer can alleviate depression or loneliness. Linda Anderson, founder of the Angel Animals Network in Minneapolis, says, “Older pet owners have often told us how
incredibly barren and lonely their lives were without their pet’s companionship, even when there were some downsides to owning an active pet.” Caring for a pet takes work, but for many people, the benefits greatly outweigh the challenges. An energetic dog encourages you to leave the house and go for walks, a talkative parrot makes time spent alone less lonely, and a soft cat curled up on your lap helps alleviate a stressful day. If you can’t have a pet in your home due to lease restrictions or mobility challenges, you don’t have to miss out on the benefits of being around animals. Consider volunteering at a local animal shelter. You can help care for cats, dogs, and other animals while they wait for their own forever home. There are thousands of pets in shelters across the country waiting for someone to care for them. If there’s room in your retirement plan, why not invite one into your home? You might discover both you and your new friend have something to gain.
ANNIE DUKE’S ‘THINKING IN BETS’
What a Poker Pro Can Teach You About Risk
at UPenn and has consulted for a number of companies, takes the decision-making lessons she learned at the poker table and applies them to the hard choices we have tomake in business. To emphasize the nature of her work, Duke begins with an introduction called, “Why This Isn’t a Poker Book.” She writes that the process of thinking in bets “starts with recognizing that there are exactly two things that determine how our lives turn out: the quality of our decisions and luck.” When youmake a decision, you rarely have perfect clarity regarding all the factors at play. This imperfect picture is what makes every business decision risky. Duke argues that ignoring inherent risk results in dangerous outcome-based thinking. As an alternative, she proposes that you acknowledge that not every decision will be the right one. This way, you can investigate the nature of your decision-making process and improve it without being blinded by lucky (or unlucky) results.
howmuch poker you’ve played, you never knowwhich cards the other players hold. You canmake educated inferences based on the information you gather, but there is always going to be a risk in calling a bet. The process parallels howwe decide what’s best for a company. We analyze all the information we have at hand andmake a projection about the best option. Until the decision plays out, we won’t know the outcome. Though Duke knows more about poker than just about anyone, she doesn’t limit her examples to gambling. She writes with equal skill and depth about everything fromCEOs to football coaches.“Thinking in Bets”is a comprehensive overview of risk assessment that provides countless tips on how to improve your decision-making. Even if you have no idea whether a flush beats a straight, you’ll find“Thinking in Bets”a valuable addition to your leadership library. Entrepreneurship requires makingmillions of decisions. Don’t you want tomake thembetter?
Annie Duke may seem an unlikely business consultant given that she’s best known as a professional poker player. But the lessons in her new book,“Thinking in Bets,”extend far beyond the felt. Duke, who studied psychology
Poker provides a fertile analogy for this concept. It’s a game of imperfect information. Nomatter
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