It's not in your head — It DOES feel better to make choices for another person. This is according to a study on the art of decision making. When making choices for others, people seem to be in a more positive and open mood. This results in less Decision Fatigue. So how can this help us?
LINKS
Read ‘Deciding for others is more fun than doing it for ourselves, research shows’ from the University of Wisconsin
Read ‘Psychology Says People Who Give Lots of Advice Secretly Want This 1 Thing’ from Inc.com
CREDITS
Host: Casey Donovan @caseydonovan88
Writer: Amy Molloy @amymolloy
Executive Producer: Anna Henvest
Editor: Adrian Walton
Welcome back to another episode of The Space, a mindfulness podcast for everyone. Do you love making decisions for other people? We know we do. It's so easy to make an important life choice for someone who isn't yourself. The person to date, the person to dump the job, to take the job, to quit, what they should wear or eat, how they should respond to that hater. It's not in your head. It does feel better to make choices for another person. This is according to a study on the art of decision making. We also tend to make better decisions for someone else. We don't spend so long worrying about the consequences. We feel more flexible in our thinking, more creative, more agile. When making choices for others, people seem to be in a more positive and open mood. This results in less decision fatigue. So how can this help us? Firstly, it gives us license to share our opinions. Mate, I know what's best for you, you better listen. More importantly, that means we can reverse engineer it. How can you use your decision making skills to benefit you? Guess yourself. The trick is to put yourself in your friend's shoes. Imagine you're sitting on a chair and there's another chair in front of you. Now here's the twist. You are sitting in both chairs. The you in chair one gets to make a decision for the you in chair two. Imagine this scenario for a moment. Think of a decision you need to make now. Maybe it's a dilemma about your career, your relationship, your lunch order. You don't have to live with the long term consequences that the other you does. Think agile, think creative, be open and willing. What decision would you make for them right now? Psychology says people who love giving advice probably love the power. We like to feel valued. We like to feel listened to. How can you feel that way about yourself and your own decisions? Sure, giving advice to other people is fun. It's also a boss move to own your own choices. Spacer