You’re on a road trip. Your car is running low on fuel. You don’t think you’ll make it to your destination. 

The closest fuel station is out of the way. Close enough that you’ll definitely make it, far enough that an alternate path would be best. It’ll take an extra hour.

You give yourself a few seconds to think. You decide to fuel up, even though it will take more time. Running out of fuel isn’t worth the risk.

You can apply this heuristic to all sorts of decisions. The path that seems the shortest or straightest isn’t always the best one. You may not have enough energy, resources, or momentum to get to your destination. With more complex goals, maybe the goal isn’t even worth pursuing directly.

The path with the best odds of achieving your goal, even if it’s more winding, is the best way to go.