Have you ever wondered why even the most intelligent people make poor decisions? One cause is your brain’s incredible, but fallible, architecture. Last week I came across an interesting article about this. Apparently, making decisions involves two key brain processes: pattern recognition and emotional tagging.

If you’ve ever done one of my courses on Neuro Linguistic Programming, you’ll already know about pattern recognition. It allows you to draw conclusions by recognising patterns established through previous experiences. For example, pattern recognition helps experts like chess masters quickly assess situations and make informed choices by spotting familiar situations.

You will have heard me talk about emotional tagging if you’ve done my resilience or confidence courses. It happens when your memories are linked to strong emotions. These emotions guide your attention and influence your actions when the memories are activated. Which can lead to your experiencing strong emotions, even when these are not really warranted.

Despite their usefulness, pattern recognition and emotional tagging can also lead you astray. For example, researchers have identified three “red flag conditions” that can cause even successful leaders to make grave errors. The first condition involves having inappropriate levels of self-interest. This can bias how a leader makes decisions.

The second condition involves distorting attachments to people, places or things. This your judgement and impact your perception of situations. For instance, entrepreneurs might hesitate to sell a business to which they have become emotionally attached.

Finally, misleading memories can lead you astray. These are memories that seem relevant to the current situation but actually steer your thinking in the wrong direction. An example of this might be a trader who is confident in their ability to read market trends, yet overlooks important data in changing market conditions.

Clearly, your brain is not a perfect decision-making machine. But what can you do to overcome these limitations? One approach is to become more aware of your own thinking processes. By understanding how you make decisions, you can learn to spot potential biases. By acknowledging your biases and emotional attachments, you can strive for more rational and objective choices.

To delve deeper into the research on decision-making, you can read the full article here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

If you’re proud of your ability to do several things at once, you might want to reconsider. It seems your brain is built to focus on a single task at a time. Not only does multitasking lower your effectiveness, it isn’t really possible!

An article I read recently explains that a scant 2.5% of people can genuinely multitask effectively. So, what you think is multitasking is just your brain switching between tasks quickly. When you do this, especially if the tasks require sustained attention, your productivity goes down. It’s like trying to spin multiple plates at once – eventually, they’re all going to come crashing down.

On the other hand, monotasking – focusing on one task at a time – lets your brain dive deep into the task at hand. By giving your undivided attention to a single activity, you boost your brain power and the quality of your work. The end result? You accomplish more in less time.

So, what’s the takeaway here? It’s time to start monotasking. Instead of trying to tackle multiple tasks at once, devote your energy to one thing at a time. You’ll experience increased efficiency, improved concentration and enhanced learning ability. That’s why it’s time to debunk the myth of multitasking and rediscover the power of focused attention.

Intrigued? Find out more in the original article here

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

If you’ve ever switched on some background music to help you learn, you’re onto something. Music doesn’t just help you relax, it wields a potent influence on how your brain processes and retains information. A recent study in Nature Communications delves into how this happens.

it’s long been recognised that music  has a significant effect on moods and emotions, but its impact on learning is just starting to be understood.  Researchers from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) have discovered that the mood changes you experience when listening to music create ‘boundaries’ between the events you experience. Those boundaries make it easier to remember what is seen and when you have seen it.

Essentially, the boundary-creation process helps your brain group and categorise  information.  This, in turn, helps you remember and organise new concepts more readily. Psychologists call this “contextual binding,” and it’s a powerful tool for learning.

Think of it this way. Your brain is involved in a perpetual tug-of-war between binding memories together and separating them. This push-and-pull process helps you store and process information efficiently. When you listen to music, it is easier for your brain to create the event boundaries needed to form strong memory recall.

As a result, your brain changes the way it binds information together. Which means it can learn more efficiently.

So, why not give it a shot? Switch on your favourite tunes while tackling that challenging task or learning something new. You may be surprised at how much easier it becomes to remember and process information. Find out more from the original article here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

We all like to think we make wise decisions. From choosing washing powder to making great investment choices,  we tend to believe that our decisions are based on logical and well-thought-out reasoning. However, it turns out this is rarely the case. Indeed, many of your decisions will be impacted by cognitive  biases – which are essentially mental shortcuts that help you make decisions quickly.

A classic example is loss aversion.  This is a bias caused by the fear of losing something and it can lead to rash decisions. For example, a well-known study showed that when people lose $100 they feel the loss far more intensely than they feel joy at finding $100. In experiments, this meant that participants were more likely to take a risk with a $100 note they found than with money that they already had in their bank account.

Why was this illogical?  Because in each situation there is $100 at stake and the odds of winning or losing are exactly the same. This example demonstrates how loss aversion can overpower rational thinking and risk assessment. It also shows how framing effects can impact decision-making. In psychology, framing refers to how your perception of something is influenced by the way it is presented.

Something as simple as whether a problem is framed in terms of winning or losing can radically affect your choices. For example, researchers Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky asked volunteers to choose the best treatment to offer to people with a serious disease. Two options were given. Both had identical success rates. However, Option A was framed as having a 90% success rate. Option B was described as having a 10% risk of death. Option A was chosen by most people, even though it had exactly the same outcome as option B!

This example highlights the fact that even when presented with identical information, people can be heavily influenced by how the information is framed. The good news is that recognising these biases can help you make better decisions in your personal and professional life.

Awareness is key. Once you know about cognitive biases and how they can impact decision-making, you can take steps to mitigate their effects. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, you can check out the original article here. Trust me, understanding how your choices are affected can help you make smarter decisions in all aspects of life.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

When you’re going through tough times, it’s normal to try and understand what is happening. The way you explain events to yourself is called your ‘explanatory style’. And that style just might be increasing your stress. An interesting article about this can be found on the Very Well Mind site. Here’s a quick rundown on what that article says.

Three dimensions of internal explanation

You draw on three factors when explaining events to yourself: stability; globality and internality. You assess stability by deciding if an event or situation is a one-time thing is likely to happen again. Your assessment of globality is based on your assumptions about when an event impacts your entire life or just a portion of it. Finally, your beliefs about whether things happen to you or are caused by you create your ‘internality’.

Why does this cause STRESS?

So how do those three factors impact your stress? Put simply, the explanations you create can impact on your emotions.  If you assume a bad situation will go on forever, for example, your assessment of stability will trigger a stress reaction. As the Very Well Mind article points out “optimists tend to have more positive explanatory styles—ones that minimise stressful situations as unstable, local, and external and take credit for positive experiences as being more stable, global, and internal”.

What to do about it

The good news is that you can change your explanatory style fairly easily. First, you need to identify and correct cognitive errors. This are flawed thinking patterns and often are linked to deeply held beliefs about stability, globabilty and internality. You can learn to question these errors and create a more positive (less stress-inducing!) style of thinking.

So the next time problems emerge in your life, remember this: your thinking impacts your well-being. Developing a positive explanation style helps you handle stress and become more resilient. Recognise cognitive distortions, set goals and express gratitude to explain things positively.

You can read more in the original article here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

If you’re finding work-from-home arrangements surprisingly tiring or unproductive, you’re not alone. It turns out that 70% of us are discovering the dream of working from home turning into a nightmare. According to a study published in 2021, working from home isn’t always the stress-free paradise we imagine. In fact, it can often increase your stress levels. Now, you might be thinking, “How is that possible?” Well, let’s dive into the research and see what it says.

The study found that in addition to social isolation and increased workloads, blurred boundaries pose  a significant challenge for remote workers. You see, when you work from home, it can be difficult to separate your work life from your personal life. And that can lead to a constant feeling of being “on the clock”, even during off-hours.

So, how can you use this information to your advantage? Well, the key is to set boundaries, according to the researchers who did the study. They explain there are three types of boundaries:  physical, temporal and psychological. You need to maintain all three to keep stress at bay. Here’s how.

Physical boundaries define the space between your work and living zones. To maintain them set up a dedicated workspace, use different devices for work and leisure activities, or establish clear start and end times for your workday.

Temporal boundaries mark distinctions in time. You can preserve them by setting specific times for work and sticking to them. This means not checking emails outside of designated working hours or staying bound to your computer all night.

Psychological boundaries enable you to separate work and personal life.  To maintain them, you need to  say ‘no’ to personal interruptions during work time. And to work intruding on your personal time. Plus, it helps to establish rituals to signal the end of work and the beginning of personal time, such as changing clothes or taking a walk.

Overall, working from home can be both a blessing and a curse. By understanding the potential stressors, you can make sure they don’t impact your mental well-being. Use boundary-setting techniques to create a clear division between work and personal life, stay connected with colleagues and take breaks when needed.

You can read the original article here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

Did you know managers can make critical errors of judgement because of a well-known thinking error called the Sunk Cost Fallacy? This is the tendency to keep investing in something because you’ve already spent time or money on it. Of course, this can lead to bad decisions and poor results. Yet, you probably still make mistakes because of the Sunk Cost Fallacy.

For example, a managers might refuse to abandon a failing product line or service because of the time spent on it previously. Or they might not address the behaviour of an underperforming employee, because of the effort spent on training them originally. These situations arise on a daily basis. That is why leaders should be aware of the dangers that distorted thinking creates. You are a savvy leader, so you might be interested in research by marketing academics at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business.

For example, their study revealed that most managers respect other people’s sunk costs as much as their own. That means you might make poor decisions because your business has already invested a lot of money in new software. Or because your team has been working together for a long time. The research showed this happened even when managers knew they needed to make change!

In another scenario, people were asked to imagine that they were accidentally scheduled for two trips on the same weekend. They told me that one flight cost $200 and the other cost $800 and they were much more likely to choose the more expensive trip. Even though it was less convenient for them. This is another example of irrational thinking caused by the sunken cost fallacy.

What does this mean for you as a busy manager or professional? Simply that you should avoid making decisions solely based on past investments made by either you or your team. Instead, focus on the current situation and make decisions based on what will provide the most benefit in the long run.

You can read the original article here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

“Done is better than perfect.” It’s a simple phrase, but it packs a punch. This quote doesn’t just sound good, it’s  a rock-solid foundation for momentum. I learned this when I first thought of setting up my business. That was back in 2003 and I was scared of failure. My mind was full of imagined catastrophes; quitting my job only to fail in my own business. Never finding clients. Losing my home. And so on.

So I procrastinated. For three years. Finally, a wise mentor told me “Done is better than perfect.” And it changed everything. I realised my perfectionism was blocking my progress. Sure, I wanted to succeed. Meanwhile, though, I was failing by default. So, in 2006 I quit my day job and set up Think Learn Succeed. I have never looked back. Even during Covid 19 I found clients and found success. And that’s why I’m here to help you build momentum today.

So, what’s the moral of this story? It’s that procrastination can be a huge roadblock to success. Don’t let fear hold you back. It’s better to just get started and adjust as you go along. Here are three tips to get you started.

Start every day by doing an important task first

That means dedicating time to Your Big Goal and not letting day-to-day chaos get in your way. Sure, it might be daunting to tackle a goal that seems lofty and far-reaching. But you’ll never get there if you don’t start somewhere.

When your brain conjures up visions of failure or disaster, challenge it to go one step further

Imagine yourself handling the problem or solving the issue. This will give you a sense of control and smash your fear into smithereens. The same creativity you put into worrying can be used to solve problems and create solutions. Use your brain for good not evil!

Finally, take joy in doing the tough stuff

Be curious, playful and committed to the process. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes or falling short. Instead, embrace action and the growth it inspires. Don’t wait three years to bring your One Big Goal to life. Start today.  And before you know it, you’ll be looking back at how far you’ve come down the road to success.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

Have you ever felt that your attention is completely drained after a long day at work? Or maybe you find yourself struggling to concentrate after a few hours of studying? You’re not alone. Research has shown that excessive focus does lead to fatigue and a decrease in cognitive performance. That’s because your brain has a limited capacity for sustained attention. When you use it continuously without taking breaks or switching tasks, it gets overloaded and works less efficiently.

So how can you combat this brain drain? Here’s an interesting fact for you: by shifting between intense concentration and unfocused thinking, you can activate what is known as the “default mode network” (DMN) in your brain. This network activates when you are relaxed and not focused on a particular task, allowing your brain to rest and recharge.

It plays such a paradoxical role in mental focus that researchers jokingly refer to it as the “Do Mostly Nothing” circuit. After all, it only becomes active when you’re not concentrating intensely. When you’re at rest, though, the DMN in your brain uses up a significant 20% of your body’s energy.

As a success-focused professional, it’s important to understand why this matters to you. Put simply, regular breaks from intense concentration are crucial for developing new ideas, being creative, and sustaining high levels of productivity. By allowing your brain to rest and activate the DMN, you’re giving it the chance to make valuable connections between seemingly unrelated information.

So, when you find yourself stuck on a problem or searching for new ideas, consider giving your brain some downtime. Go for a walk, enjoy a hobby, or simply let your thoughts drift. You’ll be surprised by the creative insights that come to the surface.

When making decisions, intense focus on a single task can limit your perspective. By relaxing and exploring alternative viewpoints, you can make more informed choices. So, when faced with a difficult decision, step back, relax and let your mind wander.

Always remember that your brain functions best when it alternates between focused thinking and relaxation. By embracing moments of relaxation, you can cultivate resilience, spark creativity and boost your decision-making prowess. Make sure you take those breaks, let your mind wander and use your downtime to power your uptime!

If you’re eager to delve deeper into this captivating study, the original article is available here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

If you believe working on twenty goals at once makes you productive, think again. Recent research shows that your brain can’t focus on more than two goals at a time.  Indeed, it works most efficiently when you only have one goal in mind. This is because your brain  allocates resources to every goal you’re working on. The more you take on, the less resources can be assigned  to each goal. Here’s how neuroscientists found this out.

They tracked the brain activity of 32 people who were working on complex tasks. In the first stage of the experiment,  participants were given a letter-matching task. All the letters were in lowercase at this stage.  MRI scans showed that both sides of the volunteers’ brains were working in harmony to get the job done during this phase of the experiment.

Next, the researchers added more complexity to the sorting task. The participants now had to deal with both uppercase and lowercase letters. Now the volunteers’ brains split the work, with each task being processed by a separate side of the brain. Put simply, each hemisphere was chasing its own goal and reward.

Finally, a third task was thrown into the mix. Now the participants consistently forgot one of their tasks and made three times as many errors. So, it seems that human brains can’t effectively juggle more than two tasks. As one of the researchers put it when you work on more than two goals, “Your prefrontal cortex will always discard one.”

So, what does this mean for you? One obvious  lesson is to limit the number of goals you work on at any one time. Having a long list of tasks might feel productive, but it’s not sustainable in the long run. Instead, try focusing on just one or two goals at a time, and give them your undivided attention until they are complete. If you’re a professional, this means prioritising your projects and deadlines and not taking on more than you can handle. If you’re a manager, it means changing your expectations and considering the brain’s limits  when assigning tasks to your team.

The bottom line is this. Multitasking may seem like a great idea, but in reality, it can decrease efficiency and lead to more errors. It is wiser to single-task.  By focusing on one goal at a time, your brain can allocate all of its resources to that task, leading to better results and less stress. So next time you feel tempted to take on multiple goals at once, remember the research and focus on one thing at a time for optimal productivity. Your brain will thank you.

You can read the original article here.

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference.