Part Four of Better Thinking

Slow Decisions When There Is Material Downside

Last time was the easy bit.

1. Create Space

2. Infect Our Minds With Better Ideas

3. Shift Towards Action

Do that, and our opinions will have much less weight on our experience. We will be busy doing, and what we are thinking will carry less weight.

Think about that for a bit.

When we are under engaged, our thoughts become mischievous.

But how am I going to end up less stupid?

Nobody likes to be stupid, but we all are. Just put us into a domain where we are clueless and force us to make decisions. Fortunately, we rarely need to rush to judgement. Remember my story about my boss taking the summer off. Perhaps that was his way of slowing things down.

Build Systems To Slow Actions With Adverse Consequences

Fewer, Better, Slower Decisions

A way to slow ourselves down is to require more than one person to make a decision. We can do this with a spouse, a confidant, a fiduciary or an investment committee.

Small, high-trust groups are best.

• Who might we want on these groups?

• Who do we definitely not want on these groups?

Here are my filters.

• Notice when someone inconveniences themselves to do the right thing.

• Notice when someone lies => to someone else, themselves or me¹.

I have witnessed all my mentors inconvenience themselves to do the right thing. Doesn’t mean they were correct (fallibility is always with us), just means they are reliable. I use this filter as a strong signal to get closer to someone.

If I see the opposite, then it is a signal to reduce exposure (emotional, financial and time) and move away from the person². If I want to save the relationship then they get a second chance (written about in Part Two).

In other words, to think better, I am not focused on pointing out how other people are wrong. This is a losing game because we are all fallible. It is impossible to win a game of “being right.”

• I am focused on taking action on the things I control and noticing my own mistakes.

• I am also aware that the fewer decisions I make, and the slower I decide, the greater my chances to avoid error.

For financial investing this is an essential lesson to take on board. One of the reasons good-enough-is-good-enough is each time we change an investment, we are opening the opportunity to make an error.

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Now what have we added to our process of thinking better?

1. We changed the game to finding our own errors.

2. We’ve put in place a system for slowing key decisions.

3. We are aware that we want to reduce the number of decisions we need to make.

4. Our system is staffed with reliable people, who are willing to disagree with us in a way that causes us to pause and double check our thinking.

   1. Virtual people work. WWJD, favorite follows, an influential person from our past. The idea is to get “out of our heads” and reflect on what’s best for our ultimate goals.

5. Knowing that everyone is fallible, we let others be wrong. Thereby freeing up headspace, and energy, so we can take action in our own lives.

To Come: If you were in the matrix then how would you know. Would there be signs?

In the meantime, a bit of homework.

• Unsubscribe from noise.³

• Unfollow the clueless.

• Do follow the reliable, especially those who think differently from us.

• Mute sources of anger.

Back to Greatest Hits

1. I don’t call people out. I simply make a written diary note of what I witnessed. My goal is to think better, not correct others.

2. Write down what you noticed and review when you are tempted to change your opinion about the reliability of the source.

Treasure the reliable people you come across in life.

3. In my online life, I have four choices: Unsubscribe, Archive, Schedule, Do It Now. To think better we need to constantly simplify.