Want to Make Better Decisions? Avoid These 5 Cognitive Distortions

Thinking better is about finding simple processes that help us work through problems from multiple dimensions and perspectives

Credit: Author

We work in environments that aren’t optimized for solid decision-making. We also have irrational or negative thought patterns from time to time. This leads to habitual errors in thinking, which creates an inaccurate view of reality.

From an evolutionary standpoint, human beings developed cognitive distortions as a survival method — adapting thinking for immediate survival made the human race come this far, but the same thoughts that served us well in prehistoric times are no longer relevant to the information and digital age we live in today.

Human beings have achieved some amazing feats in technology, medicine, food, agriculture, etc., but the neural circuits in our brain haven’t had enough time to catch up with the new realities.

There are many different causes of cognitive biases, but it’s our brains' inclination towards mental shortcuts that plays a major contributing role.

“Most of what we do daily exists in automatic processing. We have habits and defaults that we rarely examine, from gripping a pencil to swerving to avoid an auto accident. We need shortcuts, but they come at a cost. Many decision-making missteps originate from the pressure on the reflexive system to do its job fast and automatically. No one wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I want to be closed-minded and dismissive of others.’” — Annie Duke

Combating these cognitive distortions during high-stakes decisions or events where irrational thoughts have long-term implications requires self-awareness and practicing good habits of the mind, which enable you to make conscious decisions instead of letting your brain run on autopilot.