How to take fear out of decision-making.
Posted on March 18, 2020 by Ivan Poltavets, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.
Fear makes you want to retreat. How does fear affect thinking? How to level out its influence on our decision-making?
Fear makes you want to retreat. Instead of trying to adapt, under the influence of fear, we are locked in protective mode, ignoring initiatives that may very well save our businesses.
In the coaching and critical thinking trainings I conduct, the impact of emotions on thinking is a separate and a key topic.
Each emotion influences thinking in its own way. So how does fear affect thinking?
1. Fear disables the higher psychological functions of the brain – it starts to process information through emotions rather than thinking. When making decisions, it is like measuring the noise level with a microscope.
2. A person scans the environment heavily for signs of threat. The amount of information and informedness are confused and the quality of the information sample for decision-making suffers.
3. Attention is over-focused, resulting in fewer options for decision making. Research and creativity is disabled.
4. Initiatives are ignored for fear of making the “wrong decision”. The ability to bear the risk is reduced. We tend to ignore even those initiatives that can help us adapt to the new environment.
5. Also, the general expectation is that “things will soon come back and be like they were before”. But this attitude blocks the search for options to adapt to the new reality.
Knowing that due to the virus pandemics we act in an atmosphere of fear, it is better to consciously try to level out the impact of this feeling on our thinking:
1. Ignore the media and other sources of information that inflate the flames of emotions.
2. Avoid hardcore pessimists.
3. Be prepared, but not ultravigilant.
4. Consciously generate more options, when making decisions.
5. Exploring new things and taking initiative.
Who would have thought that in 2020 we would miss the beautiful 2019?
Well… goodbye to the past! It’s time to switch to exploring new opportunities, so we don’t miss the beautiful 2020 in 2021.
