1. OVAX: a Mathematical Model for Value-Based Decision-making applicable to big and small life decisions: career, marriage, holidays, travel, where to live, leisure, social activities, health habits, ...

INTRODUCTION

I make decisions every day to choose my "Actions" (when I say "I, my, …" I refer to me, the author, as well as you, the Reader: you can read what follows as your own opportunities, decision to make, possible experiences).

My Actions can be small activities, e.g. a choice to go out for lunch, or eat at home instead; or big actions, plans, programs, e.g my family holiday for next year, or change job, get married, …!

Today I had to choose whether to go to Church, what lunch to eat, what (little) work to do today on a Sunday.

Tomorrow, start of the working week, I shall decide my time allocation to project A and /or B (some decisions may involve a choice between A or B; other decisions may allow A and B to be both undertaken). I may decide to put some time into my hobbies, like developing my investment software, or writing more pages of my book.

Then, spare time comes up: shall I go to the movies, or watch a TV program, or catch up with my reading list, or simply spend quality time with my family at home? More opportunities become available to me: phone a friend, and/or email a group of friends, and/or take-up my physical exercise. And then more choices come up: exercise at home with my gadgets (shall I buy new ones?) or go the gym (shall I join a gym, as I have not done that yet?).

These are my decisions for every day. But then I face decisions that could make a change for the next month, for the next year, or for a lifetime. Job opportunities may come my way, allowing me to choose a better job, or I may decide to quit my job because of disappointments in my work. I may face the big decision of getting married, or buying a house, or a holiday plan. In all cases, I need to imagine and evaluate my future experiences, in order to make my decisions. Or I may want to re-analyse past experiences in order to learn lessons.

The OVAX methodology (O.Opportunities, V.Values, A.Actions, X.Experiences) presented in this book, allows me to analyse and quantify all these decision situations, in order to make the best-possible choices.

OVAX SITUATIONS IN MY LIFE

At age 19 I joined the Italian Air Force. My Values included a passion for flying and for studying technical subjects. But then I left the Air Force to become an engineer and a computer consultant. What Values made me change my career?

At age 25 I left Italy to visit London, an opportunity that came up because I had made English friends in Italy, resulting in my decision to "try something different" based on my Values for "adventure". The experience was positive, resulting in more friends and more prospects for "research in computers". I went back to Italy and back to London to settle in a university environment for Information Technology research. These were my Opportunities, Values and Actions: what Values made me feel that "life abroad is better"?

Then my big Opportunity came up: move to Jamaica, get married there, start a consulting career, find my place in a new and rather different society.  

What Values guided me in these important decisions? When the Minister of Finance asked me: Can we use your skills to introduce computers in the Jamaican government? I answered Yes, with little knowledge of "computers in government"! What Values made me dive into that big challenge?

And now, at retirement, I am looking at activities and passions to develop my Personal Mission Statement (PMS) that, like in the quest of many of us, can give meaning to the rest of my life.

Leaving me aside, I can now look at the life of my father, that was strongly affected by Wold War 2. I can recognise in his life the OVAX steps that can now explain his decisions "analytically": moving house from the south of Italy, where close family, friends, memories were strongly rooted, to post-war Naples, changing his job from a FIAT employee to entrepreneur, following passions and seeking achievements in his system of Values that I can see more clearly now.

These examples of OVAX applications are fully explained in later chapters. I found that all sort of Values are widely covered in the literature, in social and psychological research, in post-materialist sciences, the Bible ... They are highlighted by various expressions of culture, like opera, visual arts, movies, songs, …

So, why is my book needed? Because there is a need to list and clarify these concepts and definitions, using a symbolic language similar to computer science, taking what is available in the literature and experimental research (particularly where science meets spirituality), and condensing it into a model of decision-making and ultimately a model of life. I have called it the "OVAX decision model" (O.Opportunities, V.Values, A.Actions, X.Experiences) which is fully explained in this book.

CHOOSE YOUR VALUES CAREFULLY, 

and your life will be happy

You can create or maximize the Opportunities that come your way, then use your Values to guide your Actions, and then apply your Talents to create great eXperiences. (Too good to be true?!).

My OVAX methodology (O.Opportunities, V.Values, A.Actions, X.Experiences) expands, with charts, tables and mathematics, a simple and common advice: Choose your Values carefully, use them to guide your life, and your life will be happy and fulfilled! This advice can be found in different forms in past and present literature, traditions, cultures. Religions add: Your spiritual Values can lead you to eternal life.

This advice leads to several questions: What are my Values, what should they be? Do they evolve over my life? Do I have the talents and skills needed in order to achieve my Values with my Actions? Can I measure my achievements with numbers? Can I analyse the Values of others in order to explain their behaviour? Can my Values and Actions be connected to eternity in some way.

These questions find answers in my book, which is aimed at many kinds of readers, religious or sceptical, concerned with possible improvements in their own life or with the life and behaviour of others, interested in behavioural or social science, or philosophy. 

THE OVAX MODEL

The above icon shows a brown color for areas that are constrained in space and time. For example, my Opportunity (O) to take part in an event, my actual choice (Action, A) of what event to participate in, will take place in a specific place and time (could be a day, could be a year,…) of one of my Life Season, from "School days" to "Retirement". But my Values (V) last over Life Seasons, and connect with Eternity (blue area), if we believe in our eternal soul. Experiences (X) are the results of Actions, therefore they happen in specific places and times, but have effects (dotted line) on my Self-development, my vision of the world, in my "construction of reality", that may last across my life and follow me to Eternity.

As an example, I may be given the Opportunity (O) of attending a Bible study course and I would like to decide carefully whether to take it up. I consider which of my Values (V) may be achieved by this Action (A1), for example: V1-To search for my purpose in life; V2-To develop my spiritual assets;  V3-To make new friends; … I finally decide on my chosen Action: Attending course X at a date and time Y.

After the course, I can evaluate the eXperiences (VAX) that have resulted from this Action (or I can make a tentative evaluation before the Action): how much has this Action achieved (or will achieve) with reference to each of these Values (I call these measures: "VAach"). For example, the course has clarified my purpose in life in the context of religion (V1A1ach=90%), I have experienced a new spiritual vision (V2A1ach=70%), I have made several new good friends in the course (V3A1ach=80%).  (Total VAach=240).

This type of evaluation of a future Action can help me choose between alternative future Actions. For example, I may analyse an alternative use of my time, instead of the Bible course, and come up with a total VAach of 300, and therefore choose this second alternative.

You can use this methodology when:

• Facing some decisions, big or small, that involve several of your Values and need a detailed analysis;
• Deciding on your attitudes towards world issues, or campaigns in your community, in view of supporting them in some ways;
• Developing your useful habits, e.g. for your work, your health, those which will best achieve your Values;
• Writing a life story, in terms of Values and Actions, for yourself or people you are interested in, through their different Life Seasons;
• Developing your Personal Mission Statement (PMS) if you want to give more meaning to the rest of your life.

If you are interested in this methodology, read the blogs in order, starting from the first one.