The Psychology of Good Decisions

Some say life is just a series of decisions. Every small decision in a road taken, only in hindsight its importance noticed.

Given the importance of decisions in our lives, it's surprising that we don't receive more training in the psychology of decision making and how to make objectively better decisions.?

Being stuck between choices that seem of equal importance is one of life's most frustrating experiences. It is something I often see in clients and have experienced myself.?

How do we know the decision we make is the right one?

In many ways, I believe this is the wrong question. There can never truly be a right decision. This speaks to a simplification and rigidity that is not consistent with the reality of the world.?

Oftentimes, needing to feel that one decision is an absolute correct choice speaks to an inability to process the unstable and chaotic nature of reality.?

Yet, there are some decisions that are better than others, and these decisions are grounded in what Daniel Kahneman refers to as System 2 thinking. This speaks to four biases we have in our minds as humans that research shows may lead to less optimal decisions.?

The four main biases in our decision making are:

1. We take shortcuts in our mind

This is referred to as cognitive heuristics and they are not inherently bad they are a way our brain saves energy in the amount of information it needs to process about the world. Stereotyping is a cognitive heuristic. Being aware of our mental shortcuts is crucial to avoid decision-making pitfalls such as those which stereotyping can illicit.?

2. We have a natural laziness

This also is not inherently bad. What most people don't realize is that our brains don't actually want us to become our best selves, they just want to keep us alive. Therefore the brain typically will not expend additional energy when needs are met. So if you are trying to achieve an impressive endeavor you may have some natural pushback from your mind, the key is to expect it and understand this is normal. Just like during a run the first mile often feels like the worst because we need to push against our body's resistance, the same can occur for our brain.?

3. We have a negativity bias

This is well documented, we just tend to notice and pay attention to negative stimuli over positive ones. We will remember a critique over a compliment. Again, it is crucial to know this and then notice it in your own mind. You can then hold negative cogntiions more loosely as they can seem more important than positive.

4. We engage in emotional reasoning

This is the process of using our current emotional state to infer something about our decision. For instance, asking for a promotion will elicit fear in almost all individuals because we don't like rejection. Many individuals will use this feeling of fear as a reason to not ask for the promotion. This is emotional reasoning. Emotions come and go we have the option of using them as proof of good decision making or simply noticing them and proceeding with the plan we think is best.?

If these concepts are helpful to you and/or you have a decision you are trying to work through I invite you to join me next week in my LinkedIn Live workshop How to Make Big Decisions. We will be talking more about the psychology of decision-making and doing several exercises that will allow you to make better decisions.?

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