The Science of Slow and Methodical Decision-Making

Patience is critical when it comes to decision-making. As we understand the importance of patience in our lives and how it is a disciplined quality, we need to understand its involvement in decision-making.

Every task that we perform requires us to make decisions, from opening our eyes to drinking water to identifying the path we want to take in life. Each decision that we stake comes with the mechanism of patience.

The consequences of our decision rely on our level of endurance throughout the process. If we rush through things, the consequences will be sleazy. Whereas, if we take time, we will concentrate and focus on what and how we are doing things, resulting in a more concrete outcome.

To get this concrete outcome, we have to reiterate the importance of slow decision-making. Each one of us has two sides when it comes to decision-making. One is the quick thinker, ready to jump on its feet. The other is sluggish, though he puts more thoughts before taking action.

As the name says it for the quick-thinker, it is ready to decide at the earliest. Naturally, decisions here are made on impulse than thoughts and consideration. The amount of consideration that goes into quick thinking is limited. While this may be necessary for some places, its downside can be catastrophic.

The first catastrophe would be of being subconscious of the deed done. One may realize their change of heart after making a decision, which results in regrets often. Other setbacks would prevail in the form of negative thinking of having missed an opportunity or being too harsh on self for being impulsive.

For the other, sluggish part, they may often miss opportunities as they delay making a decision. However, when they decide on something, it is measured. These people can move past the sentiment of remorse as they have analyzed their situation. They are equipped with statistics to combat the reminder of ‘You missed out, with logical facts of why they were contemplating for so long.

The sluggish side of ours is equipped with patience, and the quick thinking is equipped with impulse. What is astounding is that both of these sides can be found within us. That means we can channel either side of ours, depending on the situation.

If we are equipped with the ability to make decisions in any way, what makes us decide if a decision requires thinking or our impulse? To understand this, we need to understand the nature of the decision required.

If you are confused about what dress to wear or what meal to eat, you are free to be impulsive, as even then, certain protocols are running at the back of your head. These protocols are often the place you are headed to and the time availability, forming a set of options for you to pick from.

Decisions that are oriented to more serious things differ. These are the ones that require you to be present and aware of what you are choosing. These are personal and professional-oriented, meaning you have to give a thought before concluding something.

Decision-making relies on our ability to calculate our gain through it. Our risk and probability estimations are fundamentally flawed. Recklessness and behavioral biases result because of this. People are resistant to change when there is a good chance of benefit and seek change when there is a tremendous chance of failure. When the likelihood of profit or loss is minimal, they flip these strategies. Worse, regardless of how they are presented, they will change their stance.

There are strategies practical to decision-making. One such is where personal judgment is not preferred over-analytical approach or professional guidelines. These require more patience, while personal judgment is often impulsive. However, organized decision-making and its structures can remain unbalanced.

Naturally, sentiment plays a larger role in judgment. An intense emotional occurrence is given far more prominence than less emotionally driven situations, where patience is put to the test. One important factor to keep in mind is that remembering influences judgment. The highest emotional intensity of an incident and its ending, rather than the overall incident, overwhelms our memory of it. The good memories influence our perception of a negative incident.

We all like to live peaceful life. Thus we aspire for the state of 'mental peace.' That is, we choose concepts that immediately spring to mind, match our core views, and don't burden our minds.

Our commitments/tasks that are understandable, clearly worded, and unforgettable seem to be more convincing. This activates the quick thinker. However, if we're to question or influence people's behavioral patterns, we must activate the sluggish thinker to force our minds into actually deliberating over the decision. Contrary to popular belief, negative messaging might be more impactful than positive thoughts because we are motivated to manage risk than to put effort into something stable.

The science of decision-making, as stated above, may seem overwhelming, but it sketches the gist of our we perceive things. It suffices to say that our two sides, the impulsive and rational, work best when we are calm as per the situation.

Alternatively, when we rush ourselves through things, we are blurring the line between our two sides. Consequently, the sluggish side may let the quick-thinker jump the gun when we conceive a situation to be concluded immediately.

Nevertheless, if we embrace peace, we will find our two sides channeling a judgment to their best of abilities. We are under no constraint when we are at peace; we are waging war within ourselves when we rush through things. In the end, a war always results in casualties, which in our case will be lingering regrets of having made a decision otherwise.