{"id":62903,"date":"2022-04-01T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T11:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=62903"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:59:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:59:32","slug":"making-decisions-under-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/making-decisions-under-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Decisions Under Stress: Practice Makes Perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How does stress affect decision-making<\/a>? How can you avoid making bad decisions<\/a> in stressful situations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you’re stressed, your brain’s ability to reason logically is impaired which can lead you to make bad decisions<\/a> that you’ll likely regret when you come to your senses. However, sometimes you have no choice but to make a decision<\/a> under stress. As with everything in life, making good decisions<\/a> under stress takes practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how you can practice making decisions under stress by rehearsing your responses to anticipated stressors beforehand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0Shortform\u2019s guide to stress<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehearse Being in Stressful Situations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can practice making decisions under stress in environments that mimic stressful situations. For example, rehearse an upcoming job interview or presentation in an environment that mirrors the event as closely as possible. Consider factors like the time of day, the people involved, and what you\u2019ll wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These drills allow you the time to figure out the most appropriate response to the stressor. Then, when you\u2019re in a moment of stress, you\u2019ll have practiced the desired response so often that it\u2019s automatic.<\/strong> You can rely on your unconscious mind<\/a> in the moment rather than having to make a rational decision. This is a way to inoculate yourself against stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gladwell suggests that to make better snap decisions<\/a>, you need to practice. He suggests two types of specific practice. First, you should practice making fast decisions in stressful situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does Rehearsal Work? Practice, Automatization, and the Brain<\/strong>

It seems obvious that practicing something will help us get better at it. But what physiological mechanism underlies this process? Norman Doidge argues in The Brain That Changes Itself<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that when you practice something, you\u2019re increasing your brain\u2019s efficiency in executing the task. New tasks (for example learning to play scales on the piano) are cognition-heavy, recruiting a massive number of neurons across different brain areas<\/a>. Practice helps our brains determine which particular networks or neurons are best suited for the task and lock in their responses, freeing up cognitive capacity for more and more challenging versions of the task. Interestingly, mental rehearsal seems to be almost as effective as rehearsing the whole action<\/a>.

Neuroimaging studies of experts back up this interpretation\u2014for example, the brains of professional violinists are more efficient and focused in their processing of motor movements than those of amateurs<\/a>, which frees up capacity for the higher-level processes involved in interpretation and musicality. Physically and\/or mentally rehearsing<\/a> before a job interview or presentation has the same effects, making lower-level processes more automatic and freeing up conscious processing<\/a> capacity to help you respond thoughtfully to those tricky questions.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gladwell describes a security firm that has bodyguards repeatedly encounter an aggressive dog and tracks their heart rates (an indicator of stress level). The first time they confront the dog, their heart rates are 175, so high that their vision is impaired. By the fourth time, their heart rates are usually around 110 and they\u2019re able to function under pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This echoes SEAL commanding officer Richard Marcinko\u2019s famous piece of advice: \u201cThe more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.\u201d If you\u2019re in a stressful situation and you haven\u2019t had a chance to practice, consider using the STOP mental checklist<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n