Experts estimate that each person on earth makes up to 35,000 decisions all in the space of a day. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

Some of these may be life changing. Others could be as simple as deciding whether you're going to listen to the news or turn up the tunes on your way into the office. Other decisions may be quick and supposedly easy but will have significant consequences. Can you make it over that busy road before that large truck reaches you?

If you've ever read Thinking, Fast and Slow by the Noble prize-winning economist, psychologist and author, Daniel Kahneman, you'll know that we rely on two systems of thinking to make decisions.

2 Thinking Systems

System 1 – FAST relies on gut instinct. These decisions are made very quickly. You don't have to think about the thinking. Your gut tells you what to do, and you just go for it. And that's a useful, inherent ability.

System 2 – SLOW is a lot more considered. You deliberate over the potential cost of making a wrong decision. This process provides a measured opportunity to exercise sound judgement. However, the most reasoned decisions are still not always the best ones.

As a coach and ‘thinking partner’, I’ve worked with executives and teams on unpacking both these systems, however here I’ll focus on how we can make System 2 thinking work for us.

Kahneman says there's three different things that can get in the way of our reasoning process and here's a quick summary.

3 biases, 3 questions

1. The frequent exposure bias

This is something we all have naturally. We tend to lean towards the familiar. For example, we may buy something that comes up regularly in our social media feeds. In a workplace context, we may recruit the person we’ve spent most time with during the interview process. If we don't keep an eye out for this type of bias, our decision making can be influenced in a way that is ultimately unhelpful. The solution to this is to ask yourself, “Is this the best option or is it the one that's just more comfortably familiar to me?”

2. The status quo bias

Nothing to do with an 80s rock band. Status quo bias relates to the fact that we put more weight on failure and loss, than we do on gain and success. We would rather maintain things as they are, than risk making a costly mistake. This might be as simple as our choice of meal. You go out for dinner and there's a delicious menu, but rather than risk ending up with something that you dislike, you go with an old favourite, something that is tried and tested, and you know you will enjoy! However, new dishes and opportunities are waiting to be discovered. So, consider this question, “If I continue to say ‘Yes’ to this, then what am I saying ‘No’ to?”

3. Tunnel vision bias

This happens when our brains take relatively few pieces of information and join them together very quickly to reach a conclusion. Again, sometimes that's helpful, but when it comes to those big decisions, it can take us down a path where we're basing things on assumptions. It’s helpful in such scenarios to ask ourselves, “Why might the opposite be true?”

So, the next time there's a big decision to make, think about these three questions… Alternatively, you could work with a coach, but then again, I would say that wouldn't I?

Sarah

P.S. Discover the power of having a thinking partner. I’d love you to read this post I wrote. In addition to considering the speed at which we think, it’s also helpful to explore HOW we think. This blog asks, “Do you think to talk or talk to think?” Please hit reply and let me know your answer along with any feedback.