7 ways to protect yourself from the pitfalls of thinking when making decisions

Thinking traps, or cognitive distortions, are the mechanisms of the brain that help make decisions faster. But they only rely on delusions, stereotypes, insufficient or erroneously processed information. As a result, the decisions made turn out to be far from optimal. Let's figure out what to do with it.

1. Learn to recognize common cognitive biases

They are very deeply rooted and cannot be overcome just like that. And it is difficult to memorize everything, there are more than a hundred thinking traps. But you can start by studying the most common ones, we described them in our book. Return to the description from time to time, so you will gradually remember the signs of different cognitive biases and learn to recognize them in your thinking.

Try to track down which traps you fall into the most. And before making a decision or making a judgment about a situation, ask yourself if your brain has lured you into one of them.

2. Use the HALT method

HALT is an acronym made up of the words hungry, angry, lonely, tired. It sounds the same as the English word "stop." This is the name of the method that people use to overcome addictions. HALT! reminds you to slow down and pay attention to your feelings. It helps control impulsive behavior.

But the method is useful to absolutely everyone. Before making any decision, consider whether you are hungry, irritated, lonely, or tired right now. Feeling like that makes you less rational. Under their influence, it is easier to do something harmful to yourself or make an inadequate decision. It is worth waiting until you feel better.

3. Apply the S. P. A. D. E. system

She is suitable for making responsible decisions with serious consequences. It was created by Gokul Rajaram, who worked as an engineer at Google, Facebook and Square. The system consists of five steps:

S - preparation (Setting). Determine clearly what is required of you, identify the reason, set time limits.
P - People. Find out with whom you need to consult, who to ask for approval, who will be responsible.
A - alternative (Alternative). Find all the possible options.
D - Decide. Ask for feedback from the rest of the team. You can arrange a vote for the best option.
E - Explain. Explain to colleagues the essence of the solution, determine the next steps to implement it.

4. Go against your preferences

Let's say you're already leaning towards a decision. Think about what happens if you choose the opposite option. Imagine that you need to protect it in front of others, and collect the data you need to defend it. Compare with the arguments your original decision was based on.

Now look again at how optimal your original is. A glance from the other side and additionally collected data will help to make more informed choices.

5. Separate valuable data from irrelevant data

The Economist did a little research, asking its subscribers to rate three sentences:

online subscription for $ 59 per year;
print subscription for $ 125 per year;
print and online subscription for $ 125 per year.

Only about 16% of the respondents chose the first option, the rest preferred the third. Everything seems to be obvious: it is much more profitable, because you get both the online version and the printed one. But when the second proposal was removed, the first option was already chosen by 68% of people, because it is the cheapest. The opportunity to get both versions of the magazine ceased to be profitable for them.

This statistic demonstrates an interesting fact. Even information about what is unprofitable or not at all necessary for us (in the example above - an expensive subscription to the printed version of the publication), can greatly influence the choice of a decision that will not be the best for us. Remind yourself of this and what is important to you in each particular case in order to avoid this.

6. Collect different points of view

This is a simple and quite effective way to protect yourself from the pitfalls of thinking. Reach out to those you trust: relatives, friends, business partners, mentors. They will be able to provide honest, constructive criticism and point out weaknesses.

Naturally, they are also susceptible to cognitive biases, but when you get to know the points of view of different people and compare them with yours, you are more likely to make an objective decision.

7. Analyze the past

Remember how you used to make decisions in a similar situation. What difficulties did you encounter and how did you deal with them? What result did you get and what did you learn? The answers to these questions will direct you in the right direction.