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---------------------------- 1955 - Decisions - How to make good decisions
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- You must learn to predict the future. You must accurately perceive the present situation. You must deal with uncertainty. You need to develop insight into the minds of others. Wow, no wonder many decisions go awry.
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- Here are their scientific steps to making good choices:
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--------------- (1) Don’t fear the consequences
--------------- (2) Go with your gut instincts
--------------- (3) Consider your emotions
--------------- (4) Play the devil’s advocate
--------------- (5) Keep your eye on the ball
--------------- (6) Don’t cry over spilt milk
--------------- (7) Look at it another way
--------------- (8) Beware of social pressure
--------------- (9) Limit your options
--------------- (10) Have someone else do the choosing
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--------------- (1) Don’t fear the consequences
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Whatever the future holds it will hurt you less or please you less than you imagine. Rather than looking inwards and imagining how a given outcome might make you feel, try to find someone else who has made the same decision and see how they felt. You tend to think that winning the lottery will make you happier than it actually will. You tend to play it safe, but, when you do lose you’ll find it less painful than you anticipated.
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--------------- (2) Go with your gut instincts
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We tend to think that weighing the pros and cons of various alternatives is needed to make good decisions. That is good to do but often an instinctive choice is just as good. Science says we make instinctive choices about a persons trustworthiness, competence, aggressiveness, likeability and attractiveness in the first 100 milliseconds. Too much information can overload your ability to make the best choice.
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--------------- (3) Consider your emotions
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If the choice you face is highly emotive, your instincts may not serve you well. Better pull out your list of pros and cons and try to think rationally. When facing an emotional response it is better to factor in empirical evidence. Emotions are not the enemy of good decision-making but are a crucial component to the neurobiology of choice. Never make decision when you are angry. Anger makes you impetuous, selfish, and risk- prone. Words like crime, or terrorism, are emotive. See the data.
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--------------- (4) Play the devil’s advocate
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Some people will only draw on evidence that supports their conclusion Some people simply have a favored opinion they want to justify. Actively searching for evidence that you will be prove you wrong is a painful process, requiring loads of self-discipline. Choose a bit more humility with your decisions, if possible.
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--------------- (5) Keep your eye on the ball
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When making decisions based on limited information we tend to latch on to the irrelevant to sway our judgment.
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--------------- (6) Don’t cry over spilt milk
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The more we invest in something the more commitment we feel towards it. It is the sunk cost fallacy. Never weigh “sunk costs” into you decisions.
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--------------- (7) Look at it another way
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The choices you make are irrationally colored by the way the alternatives are presented. This always comes out in survey questions. Snacks are always presented 90% fat free rather than 10% fat. Try to look at you options from more than one angle of presentation.
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--------------- (8) Beware of social pressure
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People are swayed by figures of authority and their peers. Groups of like minded individuals tend to talk themselves into extreme positions and behaviors. Never just assume that the group knows best. Remember, if everyone is thinking alike, someone is not thinking.
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--------------- (9) Limit your options
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Too many alternatives are not helpful. Narrow down your list.
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--------------- (10) Have someone else do the choosing
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Let someone else choose the wine, or pick the numbers on your lottery ticket. Choice itself does not always bring happiness. Sometimes it is better to let go and let someone else choose.
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Happy choices an may the best decision be always on your path.
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- Don’t do things in halves. If it be right, do it boldly. If it be wrong leave it undone.
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- The souls of men of undecided and feeble purpose are the graveyards of good intentions.
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----- 707-536-3272 ---------------- Friday, March 17, 2017 -----
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