On making rational decisions
Stop Lying. Most of What I Call "Reasons" are Just Elegant Excuses I recently read the claim that "Only ten percent of our decisions are truly rational, while ninety percent are rationalizations." The idea didn't come from Facebook or TikTok; it's a popular interpretation of decades of psychological and neuroscientific research on how humans actually make choices. Thinkers such as Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and marketing scholar Gerald Zaltman are proponents of this view. While the percentages may be debatable, the core message is spot on: We mostly feel first, and think second. Remembering this can help me decide , by being more self-aware of how emotional impulses influence my decisions, which is crucial for personal growth. I need to stop lying to myself. Most of what I like to call "reasons" are just complicated excuses for bad behavior. I tell myself stories that justify questionable decisions. I am aware of this fallacy in my thinkin...