Are you overestimating your abilities? Do you trust your intuition too much? Are you basing your actions on past decisions, even if they've been proven wrong?
According to researchers, humans make logical, well-defined decisions but people commonly make emotional and irrational choices due to different factors.
Let’s talk about the most common mental errors that show up frequently in our daily lives.
1. Expecting the perfect decision
Often people worry about not making a perfect decision or having second thoughts about their own decisions. We fear that our decisions might be wrong, but it is not a problem at all. People tend to make mistakes and it is okay to do so as long as you learn from them. You just need to relax, analyze the situation, and think clearly.
2. Reality Vs Assumption
We tend to take a position and may fail to see beyond it usually ignoring the better options that are out there. Furthermore, the way we perceive things tends to be bias which extends the positive aspects of our view but minimizes the negative ones.
3. Falling for self-deceptions
Self-deception is the act of lying to yourself and making yourself believe in things you wish to be true. We need to evaluate our thinking and try to think from different perspectives before we actually act on it.
4. Going with the flow
Sometimes we tend to relax and accept the situation as it is. Going with the flow is not always a good thing, it’s not going to take us where we want to go and can lead us to be in unwanted situations.
5. Rushing and risking
Rushing the decisions without fully considering the consequences can lead us to a huge mistake. We need to clear our minds for a few minutes and reflect upon the decisions before acting. The more time you take to assess the situation before you decide, the more you will see the bigger picture.
6. Relying too heavily on intuition
Of course, there are people who do their best by relying on their intuition but we need to realize that they’re not baseless at all but because of their previous experiences which their intuitive decisions have worked out in their past. Decisions are not always about trusting your gut, they are about combining your inner wisdom and past experiences.
7. Being married to our own ideas
It's hard for us to change a prior decision, even if it is clearly inefficient or harmful.
8. Paying little attention to consequences
Sometimes we don't consider the consequences of a decision. Paying little attention to consequences may lead us to have bigger problems in the future than what we’re trying to solve in the first place.
9. Overvaluing consensus
Consensus decision-making is not always 100 % efficient. It needs a majority of agreement so sometimes people hold back their opinions to avoid disunity and keep the peace by giving the answers they believe people want. It can cause missed opportunities for improvement and success and it can be a waste of time too.
10. Not following through
The decision-making process does not end with the decision, it requires action. A decision is just a choice and an intention until the actual action is taken.
If we consider these common mistakes, our decision-making abilities will improve substantially and in these cases, self-awareness is often one of our best options.