{"id":64424,"date":"2022-04-10T16:54:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T20:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=64424"},"modified":"2022-04-15T17:19:29","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T21:19:29","slug":"how-to-make-better-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-make-better-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Better Decisions: Don’t Do These 6 Things"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you want to know how to make better decisions<\/a> about your future? What common mistakes do people make when considering the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book Stumbling on Happiness, <\/em>social psychology researcher Daniel Gilbert details six poor choices people make when planning for the future<\/a>. By avoiding doing these things, you will be in a better position to make decisions that lead to happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the six poor choices you should avoid when making decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. You Think You\u2019ll Feel in the Future as You Do Now<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first mistake you want to avoid when learning how to make better decisions<\/a> is assuming that your future self<\/a> will feel the same as your present self. According to Gilbert, you make choices about the future that are based on feelings you have now. <\/strong>Because how you\u2019re feeling now may not reflect how you\u2019d feel about the choice in the future, this can lead to poor decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your mind envisions the future using existing references (your current experiences and memories). Gilbert notes that when you\u2019re considering a future choice, your mind pictures what that choice will look like using references from your past and present. You then have an emotional reaction to this picture in your mind, and this emotional reaction informs your decision<\/strong>\u2014you\u2019ll opt for the choice if you have a positive emotional reaction to the image of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems arise when your brain is already experiencing a strong emotional reaction to something in the present.<\/strong> In such cases, your brain focuses on your present<\/em> feeling\u2014ignoring the true future emotional reaction to the scenario you\u2019ve imagined\u2014and transposes it onto your imagined future scenario<\/a>. You thus think your present<\/em> feeling applies to the choice you\u2019re considering for your future<\/em>, even if your present emotion has nothing to do with the choice at hand. This can lead you to, say, reject a choice that would make you happy just because you\u2019re feeling sad in the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, imagine you\u2019re considering moving to Miami. On the day you\u2019re making the choice, you feel fairly neutral\u2014you have no strong emotions in the present. When deciding whether or not to make the move, you conjure up an image of Miami as it appears in your memories: warm and sunny. This image makes you feel good\u2014you love warm climates! Therefore, you conclude that you should move to Miami because doing so will likely make you feel good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, imagine that you\u2019re making this choice on a day when you\u2019re incredibly angry due to a recent breakup. When you imagine Miami, your brain transposes your anger onto the mental image\u2014you think that living in Miami would irritate you because it would be hot and uncomfortable all the time (even though really, you love the heat). You therefore decide against the move based not on how you\u2019d actually feel about living in Miami, but based on how you\u2019re feeling right now<\/em>. This is a poor choice that sabotages an attempt at future happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You Mispredict How Much Variety You\u2019ll Want Over Time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You also make poor choices<\/a> about the future because you mispredict the amount of variety you\u2019ll want across long stretches of time in the future, <\/strong>writes Gilbert. You do this because, as with the first poor choice, you transpose your feelings about the present onto your vision of the future<\/a>. You know that variety makes you happy in the short term, so you incorrectly think variety will make you happier over long periods of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s break this down further: Most of us recognize that our enjoyment of something\u2014playing ping-pong, for instance\u2014decreases the more we do it. It therefore makes sense to vary what you do each day, by swapping ping-pong for tennis every other night, for example. You don\u2019t enjoy tennis as much, but at least by regularly taking a break from ping-pong, your enjoyment of that sport remains high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, according to Gilbert, we mistakenly think we\u2019ll also want variety across long stretches of time<\/em>. In reality, when there are long gaps between occurrences\u2014if you only play ping-pong once a week, for instance\u2014your enjoyment of the activity remains high. But you mistakenly think it won\u2019t, so you begrudgingly swap ping-pong for tennis every other week, even though you don\u2019t really need to. This makes you less happy than sticking with ping-pong each week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You Compare Future Choices to Choices in the Present and Past<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The third poor choice about the future happens because when considering options for the future, you draw ineffective comparisons to the present and the past<\/strong>, writes Gilbert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: We make poor comparisons in all areas of our lives, not just in thinking about the future, as Gilbert describes. For example, Barry Schwartz writes in The Paradox of Choice<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that we make ourselves unhappy by comparing our choices not to the present or past but to the choices of others<\/a>. Such comparisons can erode our happiness by making us feel inferior to others.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look in detail at two types of ineffective comparison<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad Comparison #1: Comparing to the Present, Rather Than the Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first bad comparison you make is comparing a choice to other choices that are currently available<\/em>\u2014not to the other choices you\u2019ll have in the future<\/em>. Your circumstances may change in the future, and a choice that looks good now compared to your other present options may not look so good later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example: You\u2019re at a small furniture store, considering which of two couches to buy. Couch 1 is both cheaper and more attractive than Couch 2, so you purchase it. However, later that afternoon, you drive by a larger furniture store and see five other couches in the window, all of which are cheaper and more attractive than your just-purchased Couch 1. You made a poor choice because you compared Couch 1 only to the choices currently available\u2014Couch 2\u2014rather than considering that if you visit another store in the future, you might find better couches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad Comparison #2: Comparing to the Past, Rather Than the Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The second bad comparison you make is comparing the future to the past, writes Gilbert. If a choice is more attractive now than it was, say, two months ago, you might opt for that choice, even if a better choice might arise in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, you might purchase an ottoman for $200 because its price has been marked down from two months ago, making it a better choice now than it was previously. However, later that day, you find another ottoman online priced only at $150. Because you compared the $200 ottoman solely to its past price point, you think you got a good deal. In reality, you could have saved more<\/em> money by considering that you might come across even cheaper ottomans in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You Anticipate Regretting the Wrong Choice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Gilbert, the fourth type of poor choice about the future happens because you misjudge how much regret you\u2019ll feel in the future and over what choice. <\/strong>Specifically, you mistakenly think you\u2019ll regret a bold, risky decision<\/a> and that you won\u2019t regret a safe decision. Because you want to avoid the pain of regret, you often opt for the safe decision. In reality, you\u2019re more likely to regret a safe decision than a bold one, claims Gilbert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This error in reasoning occurs, argues Gilbert, because we think that if a big, risky choice goes wrong, we’ll feel terrible due to all that we’ve staked and lost. But this isn’t true: As we discussed in Part 3.2, your brain protects you from adversity following big mistakes by finding meaning in what happened and convincing you it happened for a reason. So, even if the risk goes wrong, you won’t feel bad. You’re more likely to feel bad if a safe bet goes wrong<\/em>, as it’ll likely lead to only minor inconvenience, and as discussed, your brain can’t protect you from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at an example to illustrate this idea: You\u2019re deciding between starting your own business and staying at your current job that you don\u2019t enjoy. Starting your own business is the riskier decision, and you vividly imagine the regret you\u2019ll feel if you fail. Meanwhile, staying at your current job elicits less fear of regret because the risk is smaller. To avoid regret, you therefore opt to stay at your current job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is, from a happiness-maximization perspective, the wrong decision. Even if your risky choice to start your own business<\/a> fails and leads to adversity, your automatic happiness-protecting response will kick in: You\u2019ll derive meaning and learning from the experience, and you won\u2019t regret it. If you stay in your current job, on the other hand, you\u2019ll never be unhappy enough to trigger that happiness-protecting response. You\u2019ll therefore languish in a state of moderate unhappiness, which you\u2019ll regret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. You Opt for Freedom When Lack of Freedom Makes You Happier<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fifth type of poor choice you make concerns your desire for freedom<\/a>: According to Gilbert, you opt for choices that grant you greater freedom in the future, when, in reality, the choices that limit your freedom make you happier<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re happier when you have less freedom thanks again to your automatic happiness-protecting response, writes Gilbert. This response triggers when you have little power and few options so that despite this adversity you can still be happy. However, you\u2019re not aware<\/em> this response will kick in. Therefore, you always make the choice that keeps your options open to avoid the discomfort you think lack of choice will bring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, having many options makes you unhappy because you constantly doubt yourself, claims Gilbert: Should you choose A or B? Was A the right choice? Should you switch to B? When you\u2019re not locked into a choice, your mind second-guesses, and this produces unhappiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at an example: You\u2019re deciding between an eight-year biology research program in a remote rainforest that you can\u2019t leave for the duration of the program and an eight-year local program that you can leave if you don\u2019t like it. Which program will you choose? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most will opt for the second program because they feel it will make them happier in the future to have the option to quit. But, the first program will probably make you happier. Even if you\u2019re initially miserable in the rainforest, your happiness-protecting response will kick in as a protective mechanism. You\u2019ll thus derive meaning and joy from being in the rainforest\u2014for instance, by believing that you\u2019re growing as a person<\/a>. Meanwhile, if you choose the other program, you\u2019ll wonder if it was the right choice or if you should use your ability to quit and look for something better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. You Prefer Explanations When Mystery Often Makes You Happier<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The last poor choice you make, writes Gilbert, is thinking you\u2019ll be happier with <\/strong>rational<\/em><\/strong> explanations for occurrences than with unsolved or mysterious ones<\/strong>. You think you prefer rational explanations because often, these explanations benefit you. Explaining rationally how or why something occurred allows you to learn and grow from it: For example, if you get into a fender-bender and explain it as being the result of the other driver\u2019s incorrect turn signal, you learn to be wary of turn signals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, says Gilbert, you can often rationally explain occurrences in ways that let you feel happier about them. For instance, your explanation of the fender-bender places the fault in the other driver\u2019s hands, not yours, which makes you happy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there\u2019s another angle to consider, claims Gilbert: While humans benefit from creating explanations for incidents, we also benefit from not <\/em>doing so. This is because unexplained events leave you pondering them for longer than events you explain, which is in itself a pleasurable activity. However, because we\u2019re not conscious of the pleasure of pondering a mystery, says Gilbert, we make choices about the future that provide us with explanations, not uncertainty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example: A literary magazine has accepted your short story, and you receive feedback from the magazine. You\u2019ll likely devour this information, as you feel it will make you happy to hear what you did well. While this may be true, you might derive more<\/em> happiness from not reading the feedback because the mystery of why you were accepted will cause you to think about it for longer, prolonging your pleasure. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you want to know how to make better decisions about your future? What common mistakes do people make when considering the future? In his book Stumbling on Happiness, social psychology researcher Daniel Gilbert details six poor choices people make when planning for the future. By avoiding doing these things, you will be in a better position to make decisions that lead to happiness. Here are the six poor choices you should avoid when making decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":56799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[605],"class_list":["post-64424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-psychology","tag-stumbling-on-happiness","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Make Better Decisions: Don't Do These 6 Things - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to know how to make better decisions for your future? 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