How do we make good decisions and why is this an important part of our life?
What is a “good” decision?
A good decision is one you can stand by; a decision you can look back on and say, “if I was in that situation again I would do the same thing”. It’s a decision you easily defend and do not regret.
But for 99% of the decisions we make, we don’t consider how our preparation influenced the goodness of that decision.
Decisions to Regret
Can you think of a time you’ve snapped at a loved one over something small and meaningless? Then regretted it immensely afterward. What a poor decision…
Poor decisions are often non-decisions.
Good decisions comes from two factors:
- The quality of information at hand
- The energy available for processing it
Information Input
At the point of decision you can’t control what data inputs you have at your disposal. You can only control what to do with the information you do have.
The outcome of your decision is based on quality of information you have available from which to consider and select the best option.
Energy Input
If we have enough energy to think through scenarios properly, given all available information, we’ll make the best possible decision.
Things may not work out the way you expect or the way you want them to, but that’s because there are almost always too many variables outside of our control. However, if you utilize the available information to the best of your ability, you can have peace of mind knowing you’ve made the best decision possible.
If you make a rash decision you’ve cut corners, hastily or lazily making a decision without thinking it through. We default to corner-cutting to conserve energy…
Engage System 2 (Slow) Thinking
No one has explained the energy balance of cognition better than Daniel Kahneman in Thinking Fast and Slow.
Here’s an oversimplification:
Our brain is made up of two systems:
System 1 (Fast Thinking) – unconscious decisions made automatically or semi-automatically (breathing, blinking, fight or flight reactions)
System 2 (Slow Thinking) – conscious decisions we think through (what will I do today, how can I help my significant other, solving math problems)
Our brain is going to default to system 1, automatic decisions, if we don’t have enough energy to initiate system 2.
Energy and Decisions
It turns out that a HUGE part of making good decisions is just energy management. Here’s a few ways I build the habit of making good decisions:
- Don’t make important decisions when tired, hungry, or generally in a low energy state
- Learn yourself – what activities, habits, diet, routines, give you high energy and what drains your energy (cultivate and energy building lifestyle; reduce energy draining activities)
- Reflect on past decisions with context. Don’t evaluate how good a decision is with the information you know now (hindsight is 20/20). Only re-evaluate past decisions with the information you had at the time.