About how many choices do you think you make every day? A few hundred, a few thousand, or even more? Are you making good or bad decision-making?
Most likely, even more. Your life may be changed in the short, medium, or long term by every choice you make.
Some choices may be very important and have effects that last a long time. Like the choice you made to marry someone, go to college, or travel.
However, some choices are small and may not have a big effect, like whether to drink coffee or cocoa, eat chocolate or fruit, watch a favorite TV show, or go to the stadium.
The Mind Behind Making Choices
From a psychological point of view, your choices are based on your thoughts, feelings, memories, and the reasons you give for your actions and views.
You can only make good choices if you think carefully and keep an open mind as you look for information from all possible sources. You can make choices based on facts instead of gut feelings.
How and Why People Make Bad Choices
Have you ever made a really bad choice, one that you knew in your heart was wrong but still did?
It might not be a coincidence; scientists are learning that bad decisions are often caused by psychological factors that are not always what we expect.
Let’s look at the many psychological reasons why people do bad things, like drinking too much, not wearing a seatbelt, or getting into a fight:
1. Having Too Much Hope. Each person naturally tends to be too positive about making a choice, and you’re no different. This could be because we naturally think that bad things only happen to other people and not to us.
Do you remember how quickly you find fault with someone’s actions or lack of actions when bad things happen to them? This tendency to blame makes us less afraid that something bad will happen to us.
Tali Sharot calls this the “optimism bias,” which is when we think good things will happen more often than bad things.
2. Look at Paralysis. Analysis paralysis is when you can’t make a choice because you’ve thought about a problem too much. You might make bad choices sometimes because you think about the problem for too long.
“You rather get caught up in the analysis loop” instead of making a choice. You will miss the best chances because of this.
Analysis paralysis can make it hard to decide which investment or insurance plan to go with. It always happens when there are a lot of options to choose from or when the conditions are not clear enough.
3. How You Feel. Sometimes, your feelings or mood have a big impact on the choices you make. You shouldn’t make important choices when you’re angry or emotionally charged.
When you’re very happy, sad, nervous, or scared, you’re more likely to make a bad choice.
4. Making Choices Gets Old. It’s possible that you make a lot of bad choices because you use your brain too much. Make sure you make most of your life’s important choices when you’re feeling more energized.
Physicists have seen that decision fatigue can make people unable to make new choices, make bad choices, buy things on a whim, and more.
Your Decision-Making Has Consequences!
“People go down dangerous paths and make bad decisions, but it’s always okay in their head,” Maisie Williams said once.
You will definitely live to see the result of every choice you make, whether it’s good or bad.
Making bad decisions can have an impact on your money, health, schooling, relationships, or even your life goals.
Making good choices every day should become a habit for the best results.
