why did i just do that? (making decisions) dr. kay potetz cleveland, ohio [email protected] national...

Why Did I Just Do That?

(Making Decisions)

Dr. Kay Potetz Cleveland, Ohio

[email protected] www.DRKKP.com

National Association of State Veteran’s

HomesThursday July 12, 2012


©copyright 2012 Dr. Kay Potetz

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The mystery of how we

make decisions is one of the

many things that has been unexplainable

to us.



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When buying a house, for example, we let our

unconscious mull over many variables, i.e., taxes, school systems, access to public transportation,

location, etc?



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But when picking a stock,

intuition often leads us astray.



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How about yourself?

Have you ever made a decision

or done something, but

couldn’t explain, “Why?”



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• We are defined by our decisions.

• Yet rarely do we consider exactly

what goes on inside our heads

during the decision making

process.



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Actually, the brain continues to be somewhat of a mystery to us

today.



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It takes 8 milliseconds for a signal to get to the Amygdala and set off defensive and stressed memories. We feel “fight or flight.”

It takes that same signal 40 milliseconds to get to the Hippocampus (the reasoning & thinking part of the brain).

Joseph LeDoux New York University



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But, how do we make a decision?



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For years we’ve been

arguing about the “workings”

of the mind.



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The most popular theory frames

“decision making” in epic terms, as a battle between reason and emotion, with reason

often triumphing. Jonah Lehrer



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After all, what separates us from

animals is the ability to reason.



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In essence, many philosophers believed that it was our feelings that prevented us from

making rational decisions.



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The truth is far more interesting:

If it weren't for our emotions, reason

wouldn’t exist at all.

Jonah Lehrer



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A brain that cannot feel cannot make up

its mind.

This of course makes feelings quite

important. Jonah Lehrer



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Scientists now know that this neurotransmitter,

Dopamine, helps to regulate ALL of our

emotions, from the first stirrings of love to the most

visceral forms of disgust.Jonah Lehrer



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Within milliseconds of disappointment, the brain

generates a unique electrical signal, known as

error-related negativity. Jonah Lehrer



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We can finally understand and appreciate the

surprising wisdom of our emotions.

Human emotions are rooted in the predictions of highly flexible brain cells, which are constantly adjusting their connections to reflect reality.

Jonah Lehrer



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Every time you make a mistake or encounter something new, your brain cells are busy changing themselves.

Neurons continually incorporate new information, turning a negative feeling into

a teachable moment.

Josh Lehrer



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This can be problematic to us

because the same circuits that are so good

at tracking food rewards, etc., fail

completely in utterly unpredictable

situations.

Jonah Lehrer



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From the perspective of the brain, there exists a

thin line between a

good decision and a bad decision.

Jonah Lehrer



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How can I apply this information to my life?



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The trick is to determine when to use different parts

of the brain,

And to do this, we need to think harder (and smarter) about

how we think.

Jonah Lehrer



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The first step in making better decisions is to see ourselves as we

really are, to look inside the black box of the human brain.

We need to honestly assess our flaws and talents, our

strengths and shortcomings.

We finally have the tools to pierce the mystery of the mind, revealing the intricate machinery that shapes

our behavior.

Now we need to put this knowledge to work.



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Questions to ask before acting:

• Do I WANT this, or NEED this?

• Is this moving me toward my ultimate goal?• Am I making this decision with a clear mind,

or am I being influenced by the chemicals in my brain?

• If I’m being influenced by chemicals in my brain, what can I do to take my mind off of this feeling?

GOOD LUCK! This requires practice.



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References

• Begley, Sharon, (2007). Train Your Mind Change Your Brain. New York: Ballantine Books.

• Boyatzis, Richard; McKee, Annie, (2005). Resonant Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

• Boyatzis, R., Goleman, D., McKee, A., (2002). Primal Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

• Goleman, Daniel, (2006). Social Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

• LeDoux, J.E., (2000). “Emotion Circuits in the Brain.” Annual Review of Neuroscience. 23, 155-184.

• Lehrer, Jonah, (2009). How We Decide. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

why did i just do that? (making decisions) dr. kay potetz cleveland, ohio [email protected] national...

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