Bad Decisions

Alexander Pope once said, “To err is human.” Yes, we all make mistakes. It is part of being human because we are all work in progress. Typically, humans make around two thousand decisions in a day.  It is inevitable that at some point we make a bad decision. There are factors that lead to making bad decisions. These include the following:

 

Mental fatigue

People don’t have endless mental energy, and our ability to perform mental tasks and make decisions sooner or later gets depleted.

Distractions

Because of the steady stream of information and communication that we deal with in our daily lives, many of us do get distracted and we struggle to focus.

Multitasking

When we focus on two cognitive tasks at the same time, our decision-making ability suffers (by 40 percent, according to researchers).

Emotional state

Our emotions, like anger or happiness, can affect our ability to make good decisions. In fact, our emotions are the driving factor when we are making a decision because it influences our judgment and choice.

Analysis paralysis

Another consequence of the onslaught of information that we receive daily is analysis paralysis. We take longer to make decisions because we are bombarded with so much information to consider.

 

Before we delve into the consequences of making a bad decision, let us define a bad decision. A bad decision is when you override your better judgment and choose an option you should not. Here are some ill effects of making bad decisions:

 

• You compromise yourself.
• You don’t get what you actually want.
• There is anxiety, distress and guilt, etc.
• You develop physical symptoms (aches and pains, etc.).
• You have to learn lessons the hard way.
• Time is wasted.
• There are financial consequences.
• Life is wasted (the most damaging effect).

 

When you ignore the signals of your own system and make a bad decision, you will suffer the consequences of the bad decision—guaranteed. The only a question is when and how much.