Babiera, Roliel E.
EDUC 206: Organizational & Management of Educational Institution
Prof: Dr. Nick Pañares
March 11, 2023
Quiz on Decision-Making: Which three decision traps you should certainly
avoid and how you can utilize the findings of brain research?
Decision-making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision,
gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions. To simplify, it is
making a choice. Decision-making is a habitual act, even in the simplest action or
situation we always undergo the process of making a choice. According to Dwight
D. Eisenhower, “The history of free men is never written by chance but by choicetheir choice”, and it shadows the power of decision-making that goes beyond the
boundaries of singularities of chances.
According to Benedikt Ahlfeld, the power of decision-making is the greatest
gift and we become the product of our decision. Every decision is crucial as it
affects our every action and ripples other decisions we make. Ernst Pöppel, a brain
researcher said that we make 20,000 decisions every day, and consciously or
unconsciously we defer big decisions in life. This is where decision traps happen,
these are the stimulus overflow, permanent stress, and perfectionism. Among these
decision traps, I find permanent stress to be the one I should certainly avoid.
Permanent stress is a product of too many expectations from oneself and others. It
sucks out energy and motivation and can lead to a decrease in self-esteem.
Additionally, it can also inflect undesirable attitudes toward work. I could say that I
had an incident with this type of decision trap at work which almost pull my
dedication at work. That event led me to burnout and almost to anxiety. But
thankfully I was able to manage it by giving myself a space to step back for a
moment and find “me time”. However, there are still instances that I still have
pieces of that stress that triggers to come. I might say that there might be a chance
that it could happen again and become totally permanent stress for me, yet I am
working hand-in-hand to eliminate it by echoing myself to my colleagues and giving
other options that hold back from compromising mental stability in my workplace.
Though I always strive for excellence in my work, I always remember to be
grounded by the idea of self-care and find time to recharge. Furthermore, getting
out of my comfort zone is very helpful because I am able to explore more about
myself, especially in being acquainted with what I can do, I can do more, and need
to work on doing more.
Ahlfeld also shared about the activity of the brain when it is under stress.
The brain, when we are under stress, tends to release cortisol, stress hormones,
that block the thalamus which processes stability to the frontal cortex in our brain
to make smart calm rational good decisions. But the amygdala somehow releases
stress that triggers our instant reflex to prevent us from dangerous choices.
However, there are numerous stressors that don’t need instant reflexes, this is
where we become shaky with our decision. Learning about how the brain works
when it comes to decision-making reminds me of the importance of applying the 7
habits of highly effective people. Sound choices are part of these habits. Learning
how stress endangers our decision makes me realize why we need to find channels
to calm down before finally arriving at sound decisions. Though this might be
difficult in all situations, practicing oneself habits of exercising calmness and
voicing out difficulties may be helpful to allow momentum for the brain to cool
down or support systems that are helpful in making rational decisions. Or aside
from calming oneself, training oneself to cope with stress by gradually going out of
the comfort zone and exploring activities that hold back from boxing oneself.
As the ending message of Ahlfeld states that “You did not decide to be
boring, but actually you can decide if your life is significant so make your decision”.
The power of decision-making will positively transcend by practicing habits of
deciding rational choices.