STEVE HAFFNER

After 5 years of learning about thinking and decision making, here are the most impactful insights I've gained.

A major cause of both regret and distrust and we our actions do not align with our values. How can we narrow the gap?

Moonshots are great and can take you far, as long as you are clear-eyed about the probabilities of success and failure.

We all have limits and constraints, but only some are real. How do you know which are illusionary?

What can we learn from astrology and its effect on human decision making?

How the "leave it alone if it still works" mindset may be hampering your ability to innovate.

A common cause of bad decision making is favoring anecdotal evidence over base rates.

We are not always in a position to practice when we need to, but recreating your practice mentally can pay big dividends.

Magicians tell us the hand is quicker than the eye, but it is the ease with which our attention can be manipulated that is the real secret.

You've heard that we only use a small potential of our brain's capacity, right? Wrong. It's time to let go of this widely believed myth.

What types of illusions are you most susceptible to? Which ones have the biggest affect on your success?

Is it useful to dwell on the idea that all good things must come to an end? Is it true? Does it foster happiness and a sense of fulfillment?

The "for us or against" proposition is an example of a false dichotomy - a fallacy used to intimidate the listener into acquiescence.

Ample hydration provides many brain benefits including improved memory, focus, and processing speed.

Predicting how happy a future event would make us seems easy. Unfortunately, brains are wired to make us poor predictors of our feelings.

Using good behavior as an excuse to indulge in bad behavior is more common in all of us than we think.

The social proximity effect shows that we become like the people we hang around with. We pick up their preferences, mannerisms and habits.

Information courage is the ability to confront the truth when the truth is likely to be uncomfortable. Do you have it?

Whenever someone argues that an event could be a "slippery slope," you may have an illogical fallacy on your hands.

Since decision making skills aren't formally in schools, here are 7 tips for helping your children improve their decision performance.

Your ability to effectively regulate your attention control systems is essential to staying on track with your goals and values.

When is it okay to take something at face value and when should we suspect and look for hidden meaning?

Analysis paralysis erodes confidence, causes you to miss important opportunities, and keeps you in the default status quo.

Assessing when an outcome is outside of our control is tricky, and a persistent illusion often gets in the way.

Providing a reason when making a request or argument can increase buy-in. But does the reason need to be relevant? Not always.

Why is it so painful to admit we were wrong, even to ourselves? The skill of being able change your beliefs and opinions is a powerful tool.

Framing a decision as a choice between two options is common because it is fast and easy, but it runs a higher risk of producing failure.

As a mentalist, I used to pretend to read minds but I knew I couldn't do it for real. But most of us think we can.

Groupthink hinders effective decision performance by closing off other options. Enlist a devil's advocate to consider contrary approaches.

Now that 2020 is behind us we can take a look back with the benefit of distance and hindsight. Think about some of the decisions you made...

There is no way to make a great decision if the data that goes into it is faulty, inaccurate or just plain bad. Garbage in - garbage out.

How physical exercies is the best way to increase your brain's performance.

At the end of each year I do two things: 1) review the goals I had set at the beginning of the year, and 2) set my goals for the coming...

Curiosity is the engine that drives growth, innovation and personal development.

“I've wasted thousands and thousands of kisses on you.”—Faye, That Thing You Do For 3 months I worked on a software development project....

“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”—Voltaire In the spring of 1997 I was job hunting. I was interested in a...

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you...

“I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd...

“Everybody wants to be someplace he ain't.” ― Henry Ford I have two questions about your car: How well does it perform and how much of...

Wouldn’t it be great to have 2 million dollars? Wouldn’t it be great if your child won the science fair? Wouldn’t it be great to have...

How to reduce those unmistakable "What was I thinking?" moments and make better decisions before they are hijacked by your lizard brain.

We are facing many challenges in the U.S. and the world. Will one of them become a major catastrophe? Pick one - COVID pandemic, global...

Have the events of 2020 put you in a negative funk of doom and despair? Has your demeanor taken a downward plunge? If so, I hope this...

How and when to use tools effectively. When I was 10 years old, the sprocket on my bike needed fixing so my buddy and I decided to fix it...

How to be a more skillful shopper. You're a lousy shopper. You buy things you don't need. You spend too much. It takes you too long. You...

The motto of the indecisive: Don’t just do something, stand there! While indecisiveness is a problem, sometimes “standing there” really...

Many years ago I made a decision to change jobs. My current job was no longer a good fit and I knew that Company X was hiring and that I...

This pandemic stinks. I’m not referring to COVID-19, although it obviously stinks as well, but to the Corrosive Social Contagion...

When was the last time you saw something that made you say, “Hey, that’s clever?” Or cool? Or creative? Probably very recently. Every...

Improving how we consume information in a time of crisis We are being bombarded with an overwhelming volume of information related to the...