There are a couple of fundamental themes that crop up time and in my coaching conversations. One of these is: “Am I making the right decision?”.
Questions like “What route is right for me?” or “What choice should I take?” Whatever difficult decision you’re faced with, being aware of the biases that might be affecting you can help.
Common biases to be aware of
Our brain is made up of both rational and emotional parts, which can combine to form biases that influence our decision making.
I could write an entire post just on each of these, but here are some of the main ones that I come across and play back to my clients to help them with their decision making process.
Take a moment to check-in and challenge yourself by asking yourself the following questions – or better yet, get someone else to ask them and challenge you on your answers.
Confirmation Bias
This is when you are seeking out (or only acknowledging) evidence that confirms your current beliefs and ignoring or discounting the evidence that would support a different conclusion.
Temporal Bias
We have a tendency to favour more recent events that means we discount past history and prevents you from seeing the complete picture.
Anchoring Bias
Sometimes we can overrely on a single piece of information or experience when we are making decisions. Often the first piece of information that we receive! This can cause us to be blinded which limits our ability to recognise other relevant information.
Overconfidence Bias
This describes a situation when you place too much faith in your own knowledge or opinions.
