Want things to improve? Remember that "different" is not the same as "better."

Choosing the opposite of a bad thing isn't necessarily a good thing.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

A friend once had a female boss who was abusive. When my friend quit that job, she said, “I’m going to make sure my next boss is male.”

I once dated a guy who had a drinking problem. When we broke up, I thought, “The next guy I date won’t drink at all.”

Many Americans have been frustrated with politicians for many years. They are telling themselves, “I’m voting for Trump, because he’s the opposite of who we’ve had so far.”

In other words, when things go badly for us, we quickly opt for future options that are directly opposite from our past experiences. Why? Because our brains move fast, and they like to conserve energy - and what’s faster than to choose the opposite of something that didn’t work?

But are opposite options good ones? Not necessarily.

A male boss will not necessarily be better than a female boss, because good leadership has to do with much more than gender. Someone who abstains from drinking could have a million other traits that make them a …