Decisions define our lives. History can be viewed as the cumulative record of billions of choices, both large and small. Making decisions is considered one of the most powerful and consequential human activities in the world.

Need to know: Many psychologists say that the human decision-making process starts with emotional reactions to incoming sensory data. Millennia ago, life on Earth was unpredictable and dangerous. Sights, sounds, and smells could be signals of pleasant experiences or life-threatening peril ahead. Reaction times in the face of danger called for hair trigger judgments. Was it was wiser to:

Today, in a much safer world, the psychology of making decisions remains, for the most part, the same basic process. In an environment where events going on around us can be described as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), we are often subjected to situations where the pressure to make decisions can be extremely stressful. In these situations, as discussed in my series on smart leadership, getting control of one’s emotions is the first step in deciding how to navigate a crisis. Though not part of any commonly used approach to decision-making, this a must before proceeding.