From the record, it might be an inoffensive to absolutely earth cataclysmic event but decisions put pressure on our minds. And, sometimes the harmless ones are more difficult to take.
For me the most difficult decision every day is to decide what should I wear to work & how do I make a difference today at work? Each morning the question fragments the morning peace as I reverberate with the silent scream in my head. I force my inattentive brain, taken up with matters I consider more cerebral, to visualize the weather. Another part of my brain focuses on the fixed prejudgments of the traffic & breakfast. But then, as my mind starts calculating the food calorie value & when it was last prepared, in extreme anxiety I give up & leave to work, prepared to fight it out another day at the table!
Shopping becomes another nerve-wracking experience. At least it isn’t for me- men have lesser shopping to do. Invariably I end up with more of impulsive buying but when wife accompanies me, I have to be prepared to spend 98 per cent of the time & hear her say “It’s no harm to just walk-in & check for the latest trends”! & by the time I reach home, I am convinced I must have stayed home for the better choice!
Most of us do not like taking decisions. We go through demonstrative debacles, mental tautness & are more often than not inclined by external statuses. Aficionados of science say that the decisions we do take are based on the temperament of the moment, oversimplification of a problem, refusal to apply ourselves or sheer chauvinism. Our intuitiveness & the environment also play their role in misguiding a decision. & of course, emotions play a huge part in persuading what we decide. Not a very sane portrait!
Normally the decisions one has most trouble making are the ones that involve too many factors or offer too many options, where one expects maximum confrontation, & where the influence is going to be a rather big one!
The judgments a person is sure about are in areas that have been mastered, the factors deliberated rationally, the disorder brushed away & the focus solely on the problem in hand.
The process is simple though logical, & one that would be approved by scientists & mathematicians alike. Each time you have a problem, you will habitually also have many factors that need to be weighed against each other. Identify these factors & write them down. You can even consolidate them in order of priority, or rate them in a completely mathematical manner.
Many factors can inspire decision making. Horizon, the BBC popular science & philosophy documentary programme, identifies perception of loss or gain as a primary influence in decision taking in their programme, How To Make Better Decisions. Using the example of cab drivers in NYC, the footage shows how cabbies on fast days, make as much as they are used to making & drive off straight home. On slower days however, they work longer because they feel they have made a loss. The rational thing to do of course would be to work extra on fast days to earn more & on a slow day, cut your losses & go home early!
But we are not always rational about our decisions. Horizon goes on to say that though we should accept that everybody has an initial emotional response, we shouldn’t let emotions have an upper hand in the decision m a k i n g progression. To prove that our choices can be manipulated by something as random as temperature, the footage shows how people who have been made to hold a warm drink in their hands had a far more favorable opinion of a man than those made to hold a cold drink just prior to meeting the same guy.
One of the most treacherous factors in wrong decision making can be the influence of the outside world. Priming is one factor that contributes to this. Prof John Barg of Yale University claims that our decisions can be subliminally manipulated. Images, words, movies slip feelings & thoughts into our heads & those then are responsible for affecting our comportment & decision taking.
Apart from these points, there are all kinds of people around us who have a share in persuading our decisions & their unscrupulous powers cannot be challenged. & so while being logical, overlaying sentiments & considering choices statistically, we also need to be aware of outside influences if we are to take rational decisions. & last but not the least; we must give some credence to our intuitive powers when making a decision. Even as we fight over the pros & cons, somewhere within us we already know what we are going to decide. As they say, whenever in two minds, toss a coin — not to settle the question, but because while it is in the air, you will know what your heart is hoping for!
For me the most difficult decision every day is to decide what should I wear to work & how do I make a difference today at work? Each morning the question fragments the morning peace as I reverberate with the silent scream in my head. I force my inattentive brain, taken up with matters I consider more cerebral, to visualize the weather. Another part of my brain focuses on the fixed prejudgments of the traffic & breakfast. But then, as my mind starts calculating the food calorie value & when it was last prepared, in extreme anxiety I give up & leave to work, prepared to fight it out another day at the table!
Shopping becomes another nerve-wracking experience. At least it isn’t for me- men have lesser shopping to do. Invariably I end up with more of impulsive buying but when wife accompanies me, I have to be prepared to spend 98 per cent of the time & hear her say “It’s no harm to just walk-in & check for the latest trends”! & by the time I reach home, I am convinced I must have stayed home for the better choice!
Most of us do not like taking decisions. We go through demonstrative debacles, mental tautness & are more often than not inclined by external statuses. Aficionados of science say that the decisions we do take are based on the temperament of the moment, oversimplification of a problem, refusal to apply ourselves or sheer chauvinism. Our intuitiveness & the environment also play their role in misguiding a decision. & of course, emotions play a huge part in persuading what we decide. Not a very sane portrait!
Normally the decisions one has most trouble making are the ones that involve too many factors or offer too many options, where one expects maximum confrontation, & where the influence is going to be a rather big one!
The judgments a person is sure about are in areas that have been mastered, the factors deliberated rationally, the disorder brushed away & the focus solely on the problem in hand.
The process is simple though logical, & one that would be approved by scientists & mathematicians alike. Each time you have a problem, you will habitually also have many factors that need to be weighed against each other. Identify these factors & write them down. You can even consolidate them in order of priority, or rate them in a completely mathematical manner.
Many factors can inspire decision making. Horizon, the BBC popular science & philosophy documentary programme, identifies perception of loss or gain as a primary influence in decision taking in their programme, How To Make Better Decisions. Using the example of cab drivers in NYC, the footage shows how cabbies on fast days, make as much as they are used to making & drive off straight home. On slower days however, they work longer because they feel they have made a loss. The rational thing to do of course would be to work extra on fast days to earn more & on a slow day, cut your losses & go home early!
But we are not always rational about our decisions. Horizon goes on to say that though we should accept that everybody has an initial emotional response, we shouldn’t let emotions have an upper hand in the decision m a k i n g progression. To prove that our choices can be manipulated by something as random as temperature, the footage shows how people who have been made to hold a warm drink in their hands had a far more favorable opinion of a man than those made to hold a cold drink just prior to meeting the same guy.
One of the most treacherous factors in wrong decision making can be the influence of the outside world. Priming is one factor that contributes to this. Prof John Barg of Yale University claims that our decisions can be subliminally manipulated. Images, words, movies slip feelings & thoughts into our heads & those then are responsible for affecting our comportment & decision taking.
Apart from these points, there are all kinds of people around us who have a share in persuading our decisions & their unscrupulous powers cannot be challenged. & so while being logical, overlaying sentiments & considering choices statistically, we also need to be aware of outside influences if we are to take rational decisions. & last but not the least; we must give some credence to our intuitive powers when making a decision. Even as we fight over the pros & cons, somewhere within us we already know what we are going to decide. As they say, whenever in two minds, toss a coin — not to settle the question, but because while it is in the air, you will know what your heart is hoping for!
