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How Stress and Anxiety Impact Your Decision Making: Making Better Decisions. Driving Better Outcomes.
It’s not just WHAT you think, but HOW you think, that makes a difference in the outcomes you generate.
You make tens of thousands of decisions a day – up to 70,000 according to research. Yet far too many of these decisions are made under emotional duress, stress, anxiety, and pressure. When this happens, the rational control center of your brain is no longer in charge, having been replaced by the emotional control center.
Make Better Decisions. You do not have to emotionally react to events, situations, and people. Within this book you will find useful and easy-to-implement tips and techniques for taking control of your emotions and thoughts so that you can respond, instead of reacting, to life’s daily challenges. Doing so puts you in a position to make more optimal decisions, both personally and professionally.
Drive Better Outcomes. Stressed-out people fall prey to binary choice decision making, which limits the options they take into consideration. An array of choices and options appear in mindful moments because opting to pause prevents habitual, knee-jerk responses from automatically surfacing and taking over. Removing yourself from autopilot mode helps prevent reactive decisions and responses. A mindfulness breather enables your conscious thoughts to hold sway over unconscious, instinctive, and automatic reactions. This leads to better decisions and more desirable outcomes.
Better decision making and better thinking — and thus better outcomes — can be yours. The key to doing so, especially for important decisions that lead to a more productive and happier life, is in knowing how stress and anxiety impact your decision making
You make tens of thousands of decisions a day – up to 70,000 according to research. Yet far too many of these decisions are made under emotional duress, stress, anxiety, and pressure. When this happens, the rational control center of your brain is no longer in charge, having been replaced by the emotional control center.
Make Better Decisions. You do not have to emotionally react to events, situations, and people. Within this book you will find useful and easy-to-implement tips and techniques for taking control of your emotions and thoughts so that you can respond, instead of reacting, to life’s daily challenges. Doing so puts you in a position to make more optimal decisions, both personally and professionally.
Drive Better Outcomes. Stressed-out people fall prey to binary choice decision making, which limits the options they take into consideration. An array of choices and options appear in mindful moments because opting to pause prevents habitual, knee-jerk responses from automatically surfacing and taking over. Removing yourself from autopilot mode helps prevent reactive decisions and responses. A mindfulness breather enables your conscious thoughts to hold sway over unconscious, instinctive, and automatic reactions. This leads to better decisions and more desirable outcomes.
Better decision making and better thinking — and thus better outcomes — can be yours. The key to doing so, especially for important decisions that lead to a more productive and happier life, is in knowing how stress and anxiety impact your decision making
181 pages, Paperback
Published June 13, 2020
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Steven Howard
53 books8 followersSteven Howard is an award-winning author of 20 leadership, marketing, and professional development books and the editor of nine personal development books in the Project You series. He is also a certified Health Coach, helping people on their transformation journeys to better health, long-term cognitive protection, and longer lives.
His book Better Decisions Better Thinking Better Outcomes received a Silver Award from the Nonfiction Authors Association in February 2019.
His book Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Saga received three book industry excellence awards.
He has published 20 leadership, marketing, and business related books, and writes The Art of Great Leadership blog. In 2014 he was named to a list of the Global Top 100 SEO Copywriters.
He is the founder of the leadership development and training company Caliente Leadership, which focuses on turning good managers and leaders into great leaders.
He is well-known and recognized for his truly international and cultural perspective, having lived in the USA for 29 years, in Singapore for 21 years and in Australia for 12 years. He currently resides in Southern California.
His book Better Decisions Better Thinking Better Outcomes received a Silver Award from the Nonfiction Authors Association in February 2019.
His book Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Saga received three book industry excellence awards.
He has published 20 leadership, marketing, and business related books, and writes The Art of Great Leadership blog. In 2014 he was named to a list of the Global Top 100 SEO Copywriters.
He is the founder of the leadership development and training company Caliente Leadership, which focuses on turning good managers and leaders into great leaders.
He is well-known and recognized for his truly international and cultural perspective, having lived in the USA for 29 years, in Singapore for 21 years and in Australia for 12 years. He currently resides in Southern California.
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October 28, 2020
I'm not really surprised by anything that the book reveals, which is essentially that attempting to multitask, being constantly interrupted by notifications on our digital devices, and information overload is wearing down our brain and causing us increased stress. In fact, I understand that multitasking does NOT lead to improved productivity, which is why I took up this book to understand the phenomenon further.
I have been amply rewarded by the author's clear and engaging writing style, well-researched information, and attractive style of presentation. I wouldn't say this is easy reading; it is a serious book but contains information that we all need to know and understand. I learned many new terms like supertaskers, decision fatigue, emotional tagging, emotional hijacking, monkey brain.
The author talks about stress at the workplace, but the concepts discussed are relevant to everyday life as well. Statistics are mostly based on U.S. data but I believe the conclusions hold true for most of the world. Interestingly, millenials are termed "Generation Stressed Out" as both parents and children are leading hectic lives.
My biggest learning from this book has been to "wait 60 seconds before doing anything to gain better control of your emotions." I have tried it and I can confirm that it works. Chapter 3, where this is discussed, describes in detail how our body reacts to stress and what are the negative effects of prolonged stress.
Chapter 4 talks about ways to reduce stress in our lives, some of which are as simple as not watching the news, focusing on the present, doing breathing exercises, and practicing mindfulness. The author draws from neuroscience to describe practical ways to cut back on stress. Interestingly, he advocates eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate to get relief from stress. I felt this was one of the most useful chapters in the book.
Chapter 5 describes mindfulness, addresses misconceptions about it, presents scientific evidence about its benefits, and outlines techniques to practice it. Chapter 6 and 7 continues from this to describe how mindfulness enhances decision-making.
The final few chapters go into great detail about practicing mindfulness techniques and meditations. You're sure to find something here that will work for you.
I think this is deep dive into how to protect ourselves from stress and anxiety--and take better decisions as a result--and I recommend that you take the time to read it.
(I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.)
I have been amply rewarded by the author's clear and engaging writing style, well-researched information, and attractive style of presentation. I wouldn't say this is easy reading; it is a serious book but contains information that we all need to know and understand. I learned many new terms like supertaskers, decision fatigue, emotional tagging, emotional hijacking, monkey brain.
The author talks about stress at the workplace, but the concepts discussed are relevant to everyday life as well. Statistics are mostly based on U.S. data but I believe the conclusions hold true for most of the world. Interestingly, millenials are termed "Generation Stressed Out" as both parents and children are leading hectic lives.
My biggest learning from this book has been to "wait 60 seconds before doing anything to gain better control of your emotions." I have tried it and I can confirm that it works. Chapter 3, where this is discussed, describes in detail how our body reacts to stress and what are the negative effects of prolonged stress.
Chapter 4 talks about ways to reduce stress in our lives, some of which are as simple as not watching the news, focusing on the present, doing breathing exercises, and practicing mindfulness. The author draws from neuroscience to describe practical ways to cut back on stress. Interestingly, he advocates eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate to get relief from stress. I felt this was one of the most useful chapters in the book.
Chapter 5 describes mindfulness, addresses misconceptions about it, presents scientific evidence about its benefits, and outlines techniques to practice it. Chapter 6 and 7 continues from this to describe how mindfulness enhances decision-making.
The final few chapters go into great detail about practicing mindfulness techniques and meditations. You're sure to find something here that will work for you.
I think this is deep dive into how to protect ourselves from stress and anxiety--and take better decisions as a result--and I recommend that you take the time to read it.
(I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.)
Displaying 1 of 1 review