THE POWER OF DECISION-MAKING | BENEDIKT AHLFELD | TEDxGraz
Summary
TLDRThe speaker emphasizes the importance of decision-making in shaping one's life, asserting that it's the greatest gift besides birth. They discuss the impact of decision traps such as stimulus overflow, permanent stress, and perfectionism on our ability to make choices. Top decision-makers are highlighted for their self-awareness, self-management, and action-oriented approach. The talk concludes with advice to train the brain under stress, avoid seeking perfection, and make decisions with available information, encouraging listeners to make significant life choices.
Takeaways
- đ The freedom to choose is considered the greatest gift and force influencing our lives.
- đ§ Our brain is a toolbox, but many people don't know how to use it effectively for decision-making.
- đ€ Top decision-makers know their identity, values, and goals, which guide their choices and actions.
- đĄ Success is often the result of making decisions and implementing them, not just chance.
- đł There are three main decision traps: stimulus overflow, permanent stress, and perfectionism.
- đ Stimulus overflow occurs when too many options paralyze the decision-making process.
- đ„ Permanent stress can lead to falling back on old habits, even when they're no longer effective.
- đ Perfectionism can prevent action; top decision-makers make decisions with about 80% of necessary information.
- đïžââïž Training the brain under stress involves stepping out of the comfort zone and adapting to new situations.
- đ To make better decisions, narrow down choices, manage emotions under stress, and avoid the pursuit of perfection.
Q & A
What does the speaker consider the greatest gift besides being born?
-The speaker considers the power of decision-making, or the freedom to choose, as the greatest gift besides being born.
According to Dwight D Eisenhower, how is the history of free men written?
-Dwight D Eisenhower stated that the history of free men is never written by chance but by choice.
What phenomenon causes people to delay making decisions, even small ones?
-The phenomenon that causes people to delay making decisions, even small ones, is called procrastination.
What is the term for the challenge faced when there are too many options, causing paralysis in decision-making?
-The term for the challenge faced when there are too many options, causing paralysis in decision-making, is 'stimulus overflow' or 'the monster Choice dilemma'.
How does the speaker describe the impact of permanent stress on decision-making?
-The speaker describes permanent stress as a decision trap that can cause people to fall back on old habits, which may not be effective in new situations.
What advice does the speaker give to avoid falling into the decision trap of perfectionism?
-The speaker advises that top decision-makers don't seek perfectionism; instead, they make decisions when they feel confident they have about 80% of the necessary information.
How does the speaker suggest changing habits and coping with stress?
-The speaker suggests changing habits and coping with stress by constantly leaving the comfort zone, trying new things, and training the brain under stress.
What is the role of the thalamus in the brain during decision-making, as described in the script?
-The thalamus acts as a watchdog in the brain, processing new information to the frontal cortex for decision-making when a person is relaxed. However, under stress, it can be overwhelmed, leading to the amygdala taking over to prevent perceived danger.
What is the significance of the speaker's exercise with hands and thumbs?
-The exercise with hands and thumbs is used to demonstrate the concept of habits and the comfort zone. Changing the position of the thumbs feels awkward because it moves outside of one's habitual comfort zone.
What message does the speaker convey in the conclusion of the talk?
-In the conclusion, the speaker conveys the message that while we did not decide to be born, we can decide if our life is of significance, encouraging the audience to make impactful decisions.
Outlines
đ The Power of Decision Making
The speaker emphasizes the power of decision-making as the greatest gift, asserting that our lives are shaped by the choices we make rather than by our genes or education. They quote Dwight D. Eisenhower to highlight that history is made by choices. The speaker engages the audience by asking about decisions that have made them happy or earned them money, and acknowledges that many decisions, especially big ones, are often postponed due to procrastination. The talk aims to address decision traps and how to avoid them, starting with understanding how our brain works as a toolbox that most people don't know how to use effectively.
đ€ Decision Traps and the 'Monster Choice' Dilemma
The speaker discusses three main decision traps: stimulus overflow, where an overwhelming number of options paralyzes the decision-making process; permanent stress, which leads to falling back on old habits that may not be effective in new situations; and perfectionism, which prevents action. The speaker uses the example of Generation Y being unsure of what to study or do in life due to the vast array of choices, illustrating the 'Monster Choice' dilemma. They also mention that top decision-makers avoid these traps by not seeking perfection, making decisions with around 80% of necessary information, and managing their emotions and habits effectively.
đ§ Understanding the Brain's Response to Stress
The speaker explores how the brain reacts under stress, explaining the role of the thalamus as a 'watchdog' that processes information to the frontal cortex for rational decision-making. However, under stress, the thalamus is overwhelmed by cortisol, causing the amygdala to take over in an attempt to prevent danger. This ancient response, once useful for escaping physical threats, is now triggered by everyday stressors, leading to poor decision-making. The speaker suggests training the brain under stress by stepping out of one's comfort zone and changing habits to improve decision-making even under high cortisol levels.
đȘ Overcoming Decision Traps and Living a Significant Life
The speaker concludes by summarizing the three decision traps and strategies to overcome them: narrowing down choices to manageable amounts, managing stress through emotional state training and stepping out of the comfort zone, and avoiding perfectionism by making decisions with sufficient but not excessive information. They encourage the audience to take charge of their lives by making significant decisions, emphasizing that while we cannot choose our birth, we can choose to live a life of significance.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄFreedom to Choose
đĄDecision Making
đĄProcrastination
đĄSelf-Determination
đĄEmotional State Management
đĄStress
đĄHabits
đĄComfort Zone
đĄPerfectionism
đĄTop Decision Makers
Highlights
The freedom to choose is the greatest influence on our lives and resonates the most with our souls.
You are not the product of your genes or education, but the result of your decisions.
Dwight D. Eisenhower emphasized that history is made by choice, not by chance.
Success is the result of making decisions, not just circumstances.
Decision-making is a daily activity, with around 20,000 decisions made, most unconsciously.
Procrastination is a common phenomenon when it comes to making big decisions.
Our brain is a toolbox, but many people don't know how to use it effectively.
Making no decision is still a decision, as it allows others to decide for you.
Top decision-makers know who they are, what they want, and how to get it based on their values.
Self-management, especially of emotions, is crucial for effective decision-making.
Implementing decisions in daily life is a key difference in top decision-makers.
The freedom to choose is a prerequisite for self-determination, as illustrated by Gustaf Sandström's story.
The 'monster Choice dilemma' is caused by an overwhelming number of options, leading to decision paralysis.
Generation Y faces the challenge of choosing from too many options, leading to indecision.
Three decision traps are identified: stimulus overflow, permanent stress, and perfectionism.
Top decision-makers avoid seeking perfection, making decisions with about 80% of necessary information.
Under stress, humans tend to revert to old habits, which may not be effective in new situations.
Changing habits takes time, and it's important to consistently practice new behaviors to establish them.
The brain under stress reacts differently, with the amygdala taking over decision-making from the prefrontal cortex.
Top decision-makers train their brain under stress by stepping out of their comfort zone.
To make great decisions, narrow down choices to the top seven chunks of information.
Manage your emotional state and train your brain under stress by leaving your comfort zone.
Decision-makers should implement decisions and take action, even if they're not perfect.
The message to decide if your life is of significance and to make your decision.
Transcripts
[Music]
if you were to ask
me
what
topic what force has the greatest
influence on
us what resonates the most with our
souls I'd answer without
hesitation it is the freedom to
choose besides being
born the power of decision making is the
greatest
gift just think about
it you are not the product of your genes
or of your
education you are the result of your
decisions Dwight D Eisenhower said
the history of free man is never written
by chance but by choice there
choice so yes life is about making
decisions and success is the result of a
decision but have you ever and please
raise your hands if yes have you ever
made a decision that you got Happy from
that made you happy who made a decision
in his life that made him happy look
around guys I see someone not raising
their hands either you're asleep
or I feel bad for you all right has
anyone ever made a decision whereby you
earned lots of money who made a decision
that got you a lot of money good for you
tell me your secret all right anyone
made the decision that cost you a lot of
money where you lost lots of money or
that's more people all right we'll talk
about that just in a bit so when it
comes to relationships have you ever
made the decision to go into a past okay
a former relation ship that you'd like
to
forget who's being honest all right all
right and now just between you and me
anyone in a current relationship you'd
like to forget sometimes all right yeah
yeah don't wor you see it's not that
easy to make decisions um actually
there's plenty of them about 20,000
decisions every day most of them with
lightning speed and
unconsciously and the big decisions in
life we adjourn them where are the
deadline
chunkies yeah right you're not alone
guys the phenomenon is called
procrastination so most likely if you
adjourned one of the big decisions even
small ones one out of three decision
traps might be the reason from
preventing you to take action in this
talk I'm going to talk about how you can
prevent those decision traps but let's
start with our brain think about it your
brain I mean it's a toolbox right only
issue is most people don't really know
how to use it Evolution right prepared
us for 4 million
years and what do most people do with it
they watch Judge Baba rales or Dr Phil
all the time all day long I know it's
sad but it's the truth right
so what you got to do is you must take
responsibility for your own
brain and make no mistake guys making no
decision is still a decision it means
you're allowing somebody else to make
the decision for you in the past 10
years I've been honored by working with
top decision makers and I learned from
them some stuff and I'd like to share it
with you today so what actually is it
that top decision makers do differently
well first off they know what they are
who they are what they want and how to
get it they set their own standard right
so actually they make decisions based on
their own values and they are
self-determined
second they have their self-management
in order especially when it comes to
their emotions and I'm not talking about
people who are robots I'm talking about
emotional state
management third they really do make
decisions right but even more important
is they need and they do Implement those
decisions in their daily life in their
businesses and I'm not talking about
exaggeration like this pretty fellow
here no actually I'm talking about
advocating your convictions standing by
what you feel is right so not so long
ago in Nazi Germany when Adolf Hitler
theur came up to a public event you were
legally bound to salute for him and to
the Hitler
G on this picture there's a man Gustaf
vard and he did not
you see the prerequisite for
self-determination is the freedom to
choose he did not have that freedom
actually he was imprisoned
afterwards Unfortunately today we are
confronted with a vast majority of
options way too many it kind of is
exactly the opposite right in our
consumer Society maybe if you went to
Ikea chances are when you are the
cashier desk you got at least one
product more in your basket than you
originally planned to buy right I mean
it happens to everyone this phenomenon
is called an irrational buying decision
and actually this is caused by the
stimulus overflow by way too many
options it just paralyzes the brain in
the decision-making process I'd like to
call it the monster Choice
dilemma and just stay with me on this
one think about Generation Y there are
lots and lots of young adults today that
do not really know what to study what to
do with their lives
right and I
think it's not a surprise actually
because they know they could literally
do anything they
want but they still don't know what they
want why
because they have all the options
they're Paralyzed by the monster Choice
dilemma and that is actually our first
decision trap the first decision trap
out of three is the stimulus overflow
being confronted with way too many
possibilities and options just paralyzes
your brain neurophysiology
neurophysiologically in the
decision-making process I'm not a native
speaker surpris
second decision trap is the permanent
stress we live in where does permanent
stress come from today it's the high
performance pressure in business in
daily life even in the family even in
education kids are starting to get burn
out because of permanent
pressure and the third decision trap is
perfectionism and a great author St H he
wrote The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People he said about
perfectionism Perfection
prevents action so what do top decision
makers actually do differently first of
all they don't seek perfectionism what
they do is if they feel confident that
they have 80% round about 80% of the
information necessary to make a decision
they just go for it they don't wait
hours days weeks months for the last 20%
to come around if they got the 80%
that's necessary makes them feel
confident they make the decision and
take action so that's what you got to do
next trap would be that under stress
humans tend to fall back to old habits
that's not a big problem at first but if
you think about it if we tend to fall
back on Old Habits even if in we're in a
new situation we might use a habit
that's not working anymore
today and then we right so how do those
habits develop before we dive into how
you can change them they do develop by
conditioning meaning if you're
confronted with the situation the first
time you're urged for a decision what
actions you got to take and then you
respond
accordingly and if the same situation
happens over and over again
this decision turns into a habit you
don't really have to think about it
anymore it just happens it's
automatic and that's good right that's
okay as long as it
works
but if you're confronted with changing
conditions and a new environment the old
habits might not work anymore and you
have to make a new
decision that would work unless you were
stressed because because under
stress we fall back on those old habits
that have proven themselves over time
even if they don't work
anymore before we do that and dive into
that what happens to the brain under
stress I'd like to invite you all to
test your own habits and just follow me
on this one put your hands together like
this just fingers crossed all the way
and have a look at your thumb which
thumb is on top left or right you can
even check with the partner sitting next
to you which thumb is on top left
right all right and now I want you to
switch the thumbs put the other one on
top and just for a moment see how it
feels how does it
feel it feels kind of awkward right
feels pretty strange why why does this
small thing feel so strange it's because
the way you do it first it's your habit
and you're used to that we call that the
comfort zone yeah what genus out here
started with that in the first place it
wasn't called The Comfort Zone in the
first place so now you changed it you
changed the Habit it feels uncomfortable
because you left your comfort zone we're
going to need that later on so according
to behavioral economy takes some quite
some time to change existing habit or
build up new ones for example round
about two months 66 days does it take in
the morning after you get out of bed and
you want to establish a new habit for
example drinking a glass of water
right after you get out of bed right
away drink a glass of water supposed to
be
healthy pretty easy doesn't take that
much time getting out of bed or maybe
rolling out of bed I don't know about
you guys and you have to do 50
sit-ups not so easy takes longer that's
pretty similar when it comes to
decision- making easy decisions we're
not really that stressed
about works the big difficult
decisions somebody's supposed maybe to
play in Jaws next time I do
this the big decisions we feel a lot
more stressed the funny thing is
intellectually it's just two decisions
there's no difference you just have to
make a decision in either ways but
emotions have a huge impact on the whole
decision-making process so that's what
we got to look at the brain under stress
so what happens to the brain under
stress in the center the green part is
the
tal it's not really green in real life
the green part the tal is kind of like a
Watch Dog and what it does is if you're
relaxed and happy and everything's fine
you're in your comfort zone and new
information comes in the talamos is
supposed to process that information to
the frontal cortex right here and that's
where you can make smart calm rational
good
decisions but under stress what happens
a lot of cortisol comes up it's a stress
hormone and it kind of blocks the
talamos he's unable to cope with all
that information coming in so he kind of
freaks
out and then there's help a Mikala steps
in she's like a little
diva don't photograph me on that one
like a little diva and aikala what does
she do actually she's trying to help AA
steps in she's trying to help you and
she does that by trying to prevent you
from danger dangerous situations just
think about it for a second yeah you
might be th000 2,000 10,000 years back
in a days you were walking through a
forest very nice weather and there would
be a sabl tooth tiger jumping out of the
forest and you would be like ah sablet
tooth tiger that's you in a calm
easygoing State no stress involved and
the talamos the watch do goes oh I see
aabl to Tiger forward that information
to the prefrontal cortex the prefrontal
cortex goes oh wow a sabl to Tiger never
SE seen that one before H how would it
maybe feel to pet it on the furry
head not such a good idea so that's
where the stress hormone kicks in the
Amika goes wait I saw that guy two days
ago he tried to pet it he got no hands
no head he dead so that's good right
that's good stress kicks in Amala goes
no run and you're
alive so Amala tries to prevent you from
danger and she does it by overriding
your system and that's a great escape
reflex actually problem is today if we
get stressed it's not so much because we
see a sable too tiger and we don't
really have the necessity to just run
away so how can we cope with that
because the same Escape reflex happens
if you're just under stress because your
boss puts up a big folder right in front
you and Des it goes Wham and you're like
what and he goes we have 30 minutes left
and you got a f fix this problem now and
you look in the folder the first page
and you know instantly you've never done
a task like this ever before and you get
pumped up you get stressed and you might
get blocked so that's a big issue how do
top decision makers cope with that
actually what they do is they train
their brain under stress and they do
that by leaving their comfort
zone they train to leave the comfort
zone where they feel comfortable and
Easy by starting out new stuff new
things constantly changing their habits
and looking for new ways to explore and
let's face it uh they a little crazy
about it too but they always want to
perform better and improve their own
habits so how do they do it actually and
Navy Seals do it as well Navy Seals they
have to make good decisions even if
somebody's shooting at them that's what
you should do actually train your brain
but good news is you don't have to be
shot at all right you can do it like
this just try out new stuff new things
yeah even small but constant changes in
your habits keeps the brain alert and
the cortisol level rises even in
everyday situations just because they're
new out of your comfort zone and your
brain gets used to that higher cortisol
level so just try out new hobbies try
new things and your brain learns to make
great decisions regardless of a high
cortisol level that's how to do
that all right now to sum that up for
you guys the first trap we had was the
stimulus overflow too many possibilities
too many choices if you don't know what
to study if you don't know what project
to start narrow it down to the top seven
maximum of seven chunks of information
that the talamos the Watchdog can cope
with everything above Seven's not good
so to make great decisions narrow it
down prioritize summarize to the top
seven chunks of information second the
permanent stress we just talked about
that no sablet tooth tigers involved
except maybe metal concerts I don't know
but a permanent stress how to cope with
that your own emotional state management
train your brain under stress by
constantly leaving the comfort zone and
the third trap was the perfectionism top
decision makers if they feel confident
they have about 80% of information
necessary to make the decision they just
do it and if there are pro problems or
errors on the way they fix them on the
way but they start implementing and they
take
action
to end my talk I have a message from my
heart for you goes like
this you did not decide to be
born but actually you can decide if your
life is of
significance so make your decision I
wish you great
[Applause]
[Music]
success
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