Efficiency experts have estimated that the average person makes around 35,000 decisions a day! I’ll bet you can name someone in your life (maybe you?) whose actual number makes 35K look like child’s play. These choices range from what to eat to whether to sign your kids up for that soccer league. Apply for that job or stay put? Take the frontage road or stick with the highway? Black or Brown? Debit or Credit? Regardless of age, gender or socio-economic status, most of us are experiencing decision fatigue. The fatigue is real friends! I get stressed out just looking at a menu from Red Robin. Can you relate? The good news is that you can decode your inner design to overcome decision fatigue. Check it out.
The “Feels” vs. “Just the Facts” … What’s Your Right Mix?
There are many books, blogs, and brainy experts making their very best recommendations on efficiency and how to avoid decision fatigue. Perhaps one of their most obvious solutions is to reduce the number of decisions you’re making. That seems reasonable. Their argument is that your brain is like a courtroom. And since every decision requires time and energy, you can overwhelm the judge and jury with “frivolous cases,” like what to eat or what to wear. So, a practical solution that increases your efficiency (tighter routines and more advanced planning, for example) should beat the decision fatigue. But even in this analogy where increases in efficiency result in increased bandwidth to make your important decisions, fatigue can and will still occur.
- Why does your inner decision-maker still malfunction even in the face of having fewer decisions to make?
- Why is it that some decisions are fun to make and others feel like you’ve gone into mental labor?
The not-so-simple answer: EMOTIONS
Depending on the emotional nature of the decision, even simple choices can prove quite fatiguing! Whether the nature of the decision is trivial or quite meaningful, fatigue may set in if you’re not using the mix of logic and emotion that you are designed to use.
Are You Designed with the “T” mix or the “F” mix?
Good decisions require the right mix of logic and emotion. If you’ve never taken the FREE InnerKinetics assessment, I hope you’ll do so now. It’s time to figure out your custom “Logic/Emotion Mix.” Complete this little exercise and come right back so we can talk about whether you are a “T” or an “F.” The meaning of these letters makes a big difference in how you make your decisions.
We use the terms “thinkers” and “feelers” (T or F) as the way to differentiate between two ways of evaluating the information we gather from the world around us and within us. Thinkers favor the use of analysis, reason, and logic in their decisions. Feelers, while using logic, not only consult their feelings but they rely on their feelings heavily.
Of course, Thinkers have lots of feelings and Feelers do a ton of thinking. But we all make our decisions with more weight given to the “T” way or the “F” way.
Which way do you lean when evaluating information and ultimately arriving at decisions?
- Reason and logic?
- Feelings and logic?
Overcome Decision Fatigue with This 3-Step Hack
On any given day, more personal organization and efficiency may very well reduce the fatigue caused by an average of 35,000 decisions. But to truly overcome decision fatigue, start with your inner design. It reveals what mix of logic and emotion is right for you as you make good decisions. Regardless of whether you make decisions as a Thinker or a Feeler, this 3-step hack keeps decision fatigue at bay.
- Know your inner design code and how you use emotions in your decision-making.
(This reveals your custom “Logic/Emotion Mix.”) - Before making your decision, pause (even if just for a moment) and let logic catch up to the speed of your emotions.
(Activates your custom “Logic/Emotion Mix.”) - Ask yourself, “Of the choices available to me, what’s the very best choice I can make in this situation?”
(Applies your custom “Logic/Emotion Mix” to your choices, causing the best one to rise to the top of the list.)
Learn more about Step 1 of this decision fatigue-fighting hack:
“Intelligently Emotional” (by Dr. Ray W. Lincoln) is like a master class on following your inner design. The knowledge Dr. Lincoln shares puts you on a trusted path to critical thinking and emotional intelligence.
Other Quick Links:
- Emotions Conflict Between “Thinkers” and “Feelers”
- Invaluable Intel: Understanding What Feelers Think
- Understanding What Thinkers Feel about Good Decisions
Next week, we’ll finish decoding inner design and take a look at the significant differences between those who prefer closure and those who prefer to keep options open.
WARNING: Successfully hacking this part of your inner code may result in some side-effects, such as healthier relationships, more intense feelings of fulfillment, and a stronger sense of connection.