Hitting Snooze on Rationality: A Deep Dive into Our Decision-Making Process (Part 1):

This morning, I slammed the "snooze" button. The alarm had rung out exactly at the time I had set the night before — the right time to wake up and kick off my day productively. Yet, in an instant, I chose a more immediately pleasing outcome. My hand reached out and hit snooze, choosing the comfort of extra sleep over well-laid plans. This simple, everyday occurrence is a textbook example of immediacy bias at work — the tendency to prioritize immediate rewards over long-term intentions. And it happens every day, in more ways than we realize.

This choice opens up a window into the complex and confusing web of human decision-making. Nothing about my day changed when that alarm went off, and yet, I didn't adhere to the plan. Imagine if every single human did the same? What if we all slept in and arrived at work late? How would that affect overall productivity or GDP?

One thing is certain: in boardrooms across the world, people would be asking "Why?". Humans seek causes to understand new events and information. We use rational thought and logic to mold these causes into a model of understanding, which we then often use to predict future outcomes. But is it logical to assume every human will hit snooze tomorrow? Did rational thought play any part at all in my decision to hit snooze? I don't think so, and I'd bet you don't either.

In my next few posts, I plan to explore why humans rely on causation to make sense of the world and how that plays out among us. I'll be examining the realms of Behavioral Economics and Social Psychology for insights into our decision-making processes. We'll understand how we as businesspeople and decision-makers, expending great energy examining "Why?", might be better off examining the phenomenon at hand and asking, "What are we going to do about it?"

We'll dive into financial markets to question if they are indeed efficient, or if Eugene Fama might have overlooked the irrationality of humans in his formula. We'll scrutinize high-stakes decisions in the business and political worlds.

But here's the twist: what if, instead of obsessing over 'why', we shifted our focus to 'what next'? Imagine the possibilities if we concentrated on adapting to and making the most of the situation at hand, rather than getting entangled in the quest for reasons.

This exploration is not just an academic exercise. It's a call to action, an invitation to rethink how we interpret and respond to the world around us. Your experiences and insights are crucial to this journey. As we navigate these topics together, I encourage you to share your perspectives. Have you encountered moments where rationality took a back seat to emotion? How did it shape the outcome?

Join me in this exploration. Let's challenge our understanding of decision-making and uncover new ways to navigate the ever-complex world of choices we face daily. Your stories and experiences are not just anecdotes; they're the very fabric of this exploration.