Mentor Path

Decision Dynamics: The Most Frequent Mistakes in Choice and Change

David Krueger MD

1. Not knowing that you don’t know.
Believing we know can blind us to our ignorance (diagnosis bias), and to signs that we may be mistaken (confirmation bias). To know to ask is half the answer.

2. Stopping at the first right answer.
When we are solving problems or writing a new story, we may stop at the first reasonable action. While this may be a correct strategy, it stops us from considering other right answers—other correct strategies that could be more effective.

3. Procrastination
Five frogs sat on a log. They all considered their options. Four, however, planned their strategy, and then decided they would jump off. How many were left?
Five were left, because they only planned and decided, but didn’t act.

4. Inefficient energy management
Managing energy is a key to success. This begins with knowing your strengths, limitations, personality style, biological cycles, when you perform best, and how to enter and exit various states of mind—and which works best for a particular task. Time management is energy management. Any addiction—to a substance, person, or process (such as spending money)—is an energy regulation issue.

5. Ambiguity
Ambiguity aversion: The risk of change seems greater than the risk of standing still. To make a change requires a leap of faith, a move in the direction of the unknown and inexperienced. Proposed change threatens not only our notions of ourselves, but also how others perceive us, and if they will respond with support.

6. Too many choices
Too many choices can lead to decision paralysis—to the default mode of not making a choice. When a company offers retirement investment options to its employees, for every ten additional options offered, the employees’ rate of participation goes down by 2%.

7. Lack of Persistence
The truly challenging, courageous part of change is not the initial decision. Or the initiation of a new order of things. It’s the willingness to stay the course. Success is never final. Don’t get complacent.

8. Not following success trails
Decide how you want to expand. Then, pick success trails to follow.

9. Not having enough mental models
The brain functions like a Google map: it creates multiple independent maps, while finding its way in the world. When a new situation arises, another map boots up. If we don’t have enough mental models—paradigms—we tend to overuse the ones we have. To someone with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

10. Not visualizing your future self
A study by Princeton psychologist Emily Pronin found how closely we identify with our future selves determines financial decisions about retirement: those who picture their future selves create more financial assets.

11. Losing a neural tug of war
When contemplating future rational plans, the prefrontal cortex becomes more active. When we focus on immediate rewards, the brain areas associated with emotion—the dopamine system and nucleus acumbens—activate. Good decisions require both sides of the brain; this may involve delaying a decision in order to first restore brain balance.

And sometimes not getting what we want is exactly what we need.

Mentor Path

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