Mastering the Skill of Wise Decision Making

Environmental triggers and biological drives cleverly work in the clandestine shadows of the mind, dictating behavior; the actor is acted upon. Are we free to act or just puppets in a cruel game? Without dredging up ancient homunculus arguments, at least on the level of conscious existence, we are free to choose. We have significant opportunities to achieve or fail. So wisely deciding when opportunity arises is essential. Wise decisions requires an intricate weaving of emotion and logic.

Unseen motivational forces have significant pull. We often act first, and cognitively justify the choice after it has been made. As humans, we proudly tout our self-governing abilities but many routinely sell our birthright of free-will for a mere bowl of porridge. Instead of exercising our freedom, acting to achieve intentions, we often settle to be acted on by happenstances.

Key Definition:

Wise decisions are choices made thoughtfully and judiciously, considering both immediate and long-term consequences. They stem from sound judgment, experience, and often, a degree of intuition.

Core Elements of Wise Decisions

The decisions we make are the foundation of our futures. They set our lives on a trajectory for ‘good’ or ‘evil.’ They represent junction points, propelling us towards one destination or the other. Wise decisions require more than a hunch. They demand wisdom. Wise decisions have several common characteristics.

Wise decisions are characterized by:

Informed Choices: They are based on a thorough understanding of the situation, including relevant facts and data.
Balanced Perspective: They take into account multiple perspectives and potential outcomes.
Ethical Considerations: They align with personal values and societal norms.
Long-Term Vision: They consider the future implications of the decision.
Emotional Intelligence: They are made with emotional awareness and self-control.

Ultimately, a wise decision is one that leads to positive outcomes and minimizes negative consequences.

Creating Space Between Impulse and Action

Our mind interprets our compulsive responses congratulating or chastising our ego for the wisdom or stupidness. Through smooth deceptions, self-righteous justifications, and lack of awareness, we explain away chaotic future-destroying action as appropriate or unavoidable. To change habitual bouts of self-destruction, we must recognize our wayward drifts and make corrections. Our best tool to achieve this noble aspiration is putting on the mental brakes, slowing down habitual reactions, and making space for the cognitive brain to join the party. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, we refer to this as using our wise mind.

Rollo May wrote:

“Freedom is the capacity to pause in the face of stimuli from many directions at once and, in this pause, to throw one’s weight toward this response rather than that one” (May, 1981, p. 54).

Evolution has compassionately introduced a buffer between the environment, inner urges and our responding behavior. Consciousness enables those, who effectively call upon it, the power to disengage from blind driving forces and introduce a collection of helpful knowledge, conveniently stored in memory.

Emotions and Wise Decisions

Emotions are necessary in the decision process. Many suggest problem solving is a cognitive function, and we should leave our emotions at home.

Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist and psychology professor at University of Southern California, has shown through research that emotions (somatic markers) play a central role in cognitions and decision making.

Damasio explains:

“The emotional signal accomplishes a number of important tasks. Covertly or overtly, it focuses attention on certain aspects of the problem and thus enhances the quality of reasoning over it. The emotional signal is not a substitute for proper reasoning. It has an auxiliary role, increasing the efficiency of the reasoning process and making it speedier” (Damasio, 2005).

Damasio and his team conducted research on previously normal functioning patients that sustained damage to brain regions necessary for the deployment of certain classes of emotions and feelings. They discovered that these patients’ ability to govern their lives was extremely disturbed even though their reasoning abilities remained intact.

Damasio explained:

“The patients were not making use of the emotion-related experience they had accumulated in their lifetimes. Decisions made in these emotion-impoverished circumstances led to erratic or downright negative results, especially so in terms of future consequences” (Damasio, 2005).

Our pause, therefore, isn’t to extricate emotions from the wise decision making process but to dampen high arousal so cognitions also have space to contribute. We draw wisdom from many areas.

“Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.”

~Samuel Butler

Wise Decisions in Hindsight Still May Be Wrong

Decisions aren’t guaranteed to produce the best consequence, not even wise decisions. We don’t have all the information. Life is complex and dynamic, continually moving. We can’t judge the rationality of a choice by the eventual outcome. If we place a bet on a high probability outcome with a high payout and still lose, we still made a rational choice.

A rational choice meets these criteria:

It is based on the decision maker’s current information, psychological state, cognitive capacities, social relationships and feelings.
It considers the possible consequences of the choice.
It considers probability of outcomes.
The choice is adaptive and flexible as events unfold in reaction to the decision (Hastie & Dawes, 2010).

Cognitive Shortcuts

We are blessed with the tools for wisdom, however, we prefer shortcuts. We throw rational choice away for energy preserving ease. Sometimes, this has adaptive value. We can’t overly engage in every simple decision. We would accomplish very little. Wisdom doesn’t demand we eliminate shortcuts. Optimizing time is essential. A wise decision maker does, however, know which decisions require effort and which ones can they can regulate to other processes.

Common decision-making shortcuts that dismiss wisdom for ease are:

Habit: We do what we’ve done before. Choice is automated and unexamined.
Conformity: We do what other people would do.
Rules: We do what our religion, political party, or culture mandates (Hastie & Dawes, 2010).

Again, there is nothing wrong with shortcuts, unless, of course, they are perpetuating problems, keeping us stuck, and narrowing our vision. In that case, we need to reclaim our freedom, and spend the energy to change.

William Glasser’s choice theory teaches:

“We choose everything we do, including the misery we feel.” Glasser goes on to explain that all other people and circumstances provide is information. The information then “goes into our brains, here we process it and then decide what to do” (Glasser, 1999, p. 4).

Associated Concepts

Cognitive Shortcuts: These refer to shortcuts we use in processing new information. They are adaptive in speed but also prone to error.
Dual-Process Theories: These theories propose that there are two systems of thinking: System 1, which is fast and intuitive, and System 2, which is slower and more rational.
Rational Choice Theory: Although more commonly associated with economics and sociology, this theory suggests that individuals make decisions by considering the potential costs and benefits to maximize personal advantage.
Deep Reflection: This refers to the process of introspective thinking and contemplation aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of one’s thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and experiences. It involves delving into the underlying motivations, beliefs, and values that drive human behavior and examining them critically.
Information Processing Theory: This theory provides a cognitive framework for understanding thought processes. It focuses on the mental processes involved in perceiving, organizing, understanding, and retrieving information. It suggests that the human mind works like a computer, processing, encoding, storing, and retrieving information.
Human Irrationality: This concept refers to the tendency of individuals to make decisions and take actions that deviate from logical reasoning or sound judgment. This phenomenon encompasses a wide range of behaviors, such as cognitive biases, emotional influences, and irrational beliefs.
Persuasive Arguments Theory: This theory explores the impact of groups in creating individual shifts in beliefs and decisions. It draws upon concepts of group polarization, arguments, and rational choice theory.

A Few Words by Psychology Fanatic

We can enhance our futures. To receive this powerful gift, we must purposely improve behaviors now, gaining awareness of underlying emotions, automatic choices, and energy conserving shortcuts. Pause, take a deep breath, and then thoughtfully proceed in wisdom. Our emotions are often on target, leading towards intentions, guiding choices with hidden wisdom. Mindful awareness, practical experience and rational inspection sort through powerful emotions and detect when they are off-course. Wise choices relies on multiple sources of information, checking and counterchecking, and integrating these great data bases of knowledge. And with better information, we make better choices and experience better futures.

Last updated: December 12, 2025

References:

Damasio, Antonio (2005). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. Penguin Books; Reprint edition. ISBN-10: ‎014303622X
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Glasser, William (1999). Choice Theory: A New Psychology. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN-10: 0060930144; APA Record: 1999-02074-000
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Hastie, Reid; Dawes, Robyn M. (2010). ‎Rational Choice in an Uncertain World: The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. SAGE Publications, Inc; Second edition. ISBN-10: 1412959039; APA Record: 2010-02957-000
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May, Rollo (1981/1999). Freedom and Destiny. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-0-393-31842-5; APA Record: 2006-03361-000
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