Have you noticed that, depending on the moment we’re living in, our decisions are made according to very different criteria?
Decisions that we make at a certain time can start to no longer make sense and we decide to change.
This happens with our careers, with our motivation to change or not change our cars every year, with our choice of certain foods, with our interest in starting a postgraduate course and even in leaving or entering a romantic relationship.
This article will expose what motivates our decision-making according to Richard Barret, one of the most influential thinkers on the international scene on topics related to Leadership, Organizational Culture, Ethics and Human Values in business and society.
Barret says that there are six modes of decision making and that the way we decide is related to our level of psychological development and the level of consciousness at which we are operating. Enjoy reading this and see if you can identify in your decision-making history on what basis you were operating at different stages of your life:
And which of these modes do you find yourself operating in most often at the moment?
1) Decision-making based on instinct. This mode is related to the survival instinct. Even babies act in this way when they cry out of hunger. When we become adults, we also make decisions like this in dangerous situations. At this level of consciousness, decisions are made automatically: first we act and then we think.
These are decisions made on the basis of past experiences. People who make these decisions act like hostages, because instead of controlling their emotions, they are controlled by them, and when they act, they don’t think about their words or the consequences of their behavior.
2) Decision-making based on unconscious beliefs. These are decisions we make based on memories of previous experiences. They are related to decisions we make irrationally involving our need to belong and stand out.
Here, too, we act before we think, but immediately after the action we usually feel a strong emotion. Decisions made in this way are usually related to frustrations we’ve experienced at other times. In order not to make a decision based on unconscious beliefs, it’s important to give vent to your emotions, to get in touch with them in order to free yourself and not allow negative experiences from the past to interfere with future decisions. This is what Daniel Goleman, the psychologist who developed the theory of Emotional Intelligence, calls emotion management, to prevent amygdala hijacking.
3) Decision-making based on conscious beliefs: These are decisions we make when we experience moments of transformation in our lives. In this case, there is a pause between the event that activates the conscious belief and the response. This pause serves to reflect, discuss, listen to advice and understand the need you have before responding. In other words, first we think and then we act.
Decisions are made based on what you believe you know. You control your actions and your thoughts. Even though decisions here continue to be made on the basis of past experiences, the aim is to achieve better results. The past doesn’t serve to generate useless emotions, the past here serves as a learning experience for making more assertive decisions.
4) Decision-making based on values: Only those who have become physically and emotionally independent are able to make decisions based on values. At this stage, the decision-maker already understands the meaning of each belief and learned experience, understanding the influence that upbringing and culture have on our decisions at different times in life.
A values-based decision connects with a deep sense of doing the right thing. A values-based decision makes it possible to create a future in line with who you are in a whole and authentic way. You are already able to think about the need to meet your values and decide accordingly. The basis of this decision-making lies in the future you want to live and which reflects a present need to get there.
Here you are in control of your actions and behavior.
5)Decision-making based on intuition: This way of deciding is related to the need to make a difference in the world, to personal development. You have matured and your decisions contribute to your evolution.
In this phase, judgments cease. Plans, beliefs and thoughts are also put aside. The mind is freer and there is a deep sense of wisdom with an acceptance of reality as it is without interference from the past or the future.
You simply trust ideas that suddenly appear, offering solutions or clues to solve a problem that was on your mind. It’s that Eureka moment – have you ever experienced it?
6) Decision-making based on inspiration. These are decisions related to the desire to serve. You definitely stop giving priority to fears and the satisfaction of basic needs.
Decisions in this phase arise from thoughts that we are not clear where they come from, but which are persistent and connected to actions that we need to implement in our lives. When we fail to implement them, there are emotional consequences opposite to the state of flow we enter when we decide to act in fulfillment of a purpose greater than ourselves. This purpose is what inspires certain decisions without dilemmas.
Tell me, did this article help you understand how you are currently deciding? Or have you been able to understand the way someone close to you decides, a leader or a member of your team perhaps?
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