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by Tremaine Du Preez
If we only used a small percentage of our brain, commonly thought to be 10%, couldn't we just activate the remaining 90% to think smarter, make better decisions and come up with groundbreaking ideas?
Wouldn't that be nice?
This is a very popular anecdote that has motivated millions of people to work harder at being smarter. It is a shame that there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support it. In fact, evidence shows that every part of our brain is used when called upon to perform its particular function.
And different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions. The part of the brain responsible for higher order thinking sits in the front, in the neocortex - a part of the brain only fully developed in early adulthood. This is why toddlers don't fully grasp the idea of cause and effect – yet. Emotions are generated in the emotional centre of the brain, which sits near the middle of our grey matter. Every single time we are faced with information, a decision to make, or a problem to solve - a remarkable interaction takes place between these two areas of the brain.
Emotions are vital in decision making
The 'emotional brain' is much quicker to respond to any stimuli than our 'thinking brain'. It generates a response without the need for conscious thought. This is why we feel something before we can articulate exactly what we feel. Perhaps we feel ourselves getting angry (increased pulse and temperature) before we've had a chance to think about why we are angry. Have you ever met someone in a lift and immediately had a liking or disliking for that person – just from looking at them? This is your 'emotional brain' taking charge. You may know this as a gut feeling.
Our emotional brain is about a quarter of a second faster than its thinking counterpart. Understanding what happens in the split second that it takes for us to 'make up our minds' is key to improving our ability to make sound decisions at work and in our personal life. After all, the decisions we make today create our future.
Emotions or feelings are the very beginning of every decision we have, and will ever make. They are mental shortcuts that speed up our ability to make split second decisions. Emotions are especially important when dealing with lots of information. They help us make the best possible decision that we can, given our limited mental processing power. Limited mental processing power? Yup, I'm afraid I have to bust another myth here.
We can actively hold four to seven ideas in our thimble-sized working memory at any one time. This helps us compare different ideas or products logically.
What happens when there are way too many choices for our working memory to remember and compare? It checks in with our emotional brain to get a helping hand, or thought.
Our emotional brain can comprehend much more, much quicker than our logical brain. Often, when we are overwhelmed by facts, a lot of information is compacted into an intuition, or a gut feel. This happens when you are choosing lunch, your life partner or making important decisions at work. The inexplicable emotion, or hunch, that you feel is a messenger with a very important message. Checking in with your gut isn't always the worst idea.
Think about this?
How can we control the impact of emotions on decision making?
- Understanding that an emotional response is always generated forms the foundation of emotional intelligence. When an emotional response is particularly strong you will feel yourself getting warm, your heart beating faster and palms getting sweaty. This chemical reaction has significant impact on the decisions that you make.
- These lightening-fast emotions serve to help you avoid loss or regret and maximise gain. If you drive a car you will know that you are able to make split second decisions based on avoiding an accident or getting ahead of another car. When making decisions in other areas these same emotions are generated but we have more time to process them.
- When faced with an important decision, check in with your gut feel. Ask what could you be trying to avoid or gain. You will find these two in various forms in every single decisions you will ever make. Be honest with yourself and determine the impact of this emotion on your decision making.
- Finally, ask yourself how your decision would be different if you could remove the emotion that you have already identified.
For many more practical tools for optimising your decision-making and problem-solving strategies, pick up a copy of Think, Smart Work Smarter by Tremaine du Preez at any leading bookstore.
Article written by Tremaine Du Preez, author of Think, Smart Work Smarter, part of the ST Training Solutions Success Skills series published by Marshall Cavendish International. Tremaine is a leadership coach and popular keynote speaker on productivity and leadership. Tremaine is head of organisational learning for The Leadership Consultancy based in Singapore.
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