Why We Decide the Way We Do

We make decisions all day long. Big ones—where to live, where to buy a house.  Small ones—what to eat, what to say, which route to take home and the list goes on.

Just last week, I stood frozen in front of one of my favorite restaurant menu for ten minutes, staring at many choices—only to order the exact same dish I always do at this place. We laugh at these small moments, but the truth is, this is exactly how our brain works when the stakes are much higher.

We like to think we’re weighing the facts like careful strategists. But most of our decisions are nowhere near as rational as we believe.

Our brains are wired to take shortcuts. Those shortcuts—while efficient—are often biased, lazy, and misleading.

The late Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize–winning psychologist and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, spent his career proving this. His work showed that we’re not logic machines. Instead, we’re guided—often misled—by how choices are framed, the first number we see, and what feels easiest in the moment.

Let’s discuss this in more detail.

The Two Systems Running the Show

Kahneman explained that we have two modes of thinking:

• System 1: Fast, automatic and intuitive. It’s what helps us steer away to avoid when a car cuts us off, or answer “2 + 2” without pause. But it’s also impulsive—quick to jump to conclusions and quick to be fooled.

  
  

• System 2: Slow, deliberate and logical. It shows up when solving a tough problem or running a careful analysis. But the interesting thing about it is that system 2 is lazy. It doesn’t always show up when we need it most.

  
  

In reality, most of our daily choices are driven by System 1. That means autopilot is running the show. It’s efficient but it’s also where bias sneaks in.

Where We Get Fooled Most

1. The Framing Effect

The way something is phrased can completely change how we respond—even if the facts are identical.

In a medical study, participants were told about a treatment. Half heard it had a 90% survival rate. The other half heard it had a 10% death rate. The math is the same. But most people said yes to the treatment when they heard “90% survival.” Far fewer agreed when it was framed as “10% death.”

It's the same in business. If a project is presented as having an 80% chance of success, people get excited and want to move forward. But if you frame that same project as having a 20% chance of failure, suddenly there is a hesitation. The math is exactly the same, but the reaction is completely different."

That’s why messaging is so important. It’s not just about what we say—it’s about what others hear, how they feel, and the story they tell themselves when they walk away.

2. Anchoring

Our brains grab onto the first number we see—even if it’s random—and everything after gets distorted by it.

One famous experiment showed that participants spun a wheel with random numbers (either 10 or 65). Then they were asked: What percentage of African countries are in the UN? People who saw the wheel stop at 10 guessed around 25%. People who saw 65 guessed closer to 45%. The number on the wheel was meaningless—but it anchored their thinking.

Take a simple example: shopping for shoes and it happens to all of us often. The first pair I looked at was $700. Suddenly, the $500 pair right next to it felt like a bargain—even though I hadn’t planned to spend anywhere near that much.

Or take real estate. A house listed at $1.5 million feels like a bargain at $1.4M million—even if its real value is only $1.2 million.

As we see, anchoring shows up everywhere and the first number always sets the tone.

3. Cognitive Laziness

Our brains are built to conserve energy. That means we often default to the quick, easy answer instead of the thoughtful one. Kahneman called us “cognitive misers.”

Think about the last time when you clicked “Accept Terms & Conditions” without reading a word. Well, probably every single day. We all do it and the reason is because slowing down feels like work. Our brains crave shortcuts, even when it might cost us later.

It’s why people fall for scams—they don’t engage System 2 because it feels like too much work.

Convenience has a funny way of disguising itself as clarity.

How to Outsmart Yourself

Perfection should never be the goal. Kahneman himself admitted he still fell for the same traps, even after decades of studying them. As I always say, someone's perfect is another person's imperfect.

But awareness gives us an edge. Here are some strategies I’ve seen work—and use myself:

• Flip the Frame - If something is shown as a loss, try saying it as a gain. If it’s shown as a gain, say it as a loss. Notice how your gut reaction changes. That’s the framing effect at work.

• Question the First Number - The first number you hear isn’t always the truth—it’s just an anchor. Pause and ask: What’s the real range here?

• Slow Down for the Big Stuff - Small choices—what to eat, what to wear—go with your gut. But for the big ones—career moves, investments, major projects—force yourself to slow down. Write down the pros, cons, risks, and best/worst outcomes. You’ll see patterns you’d miss otherwise.

• Get a Fresh Pair of Eyes - When you’re too close to something, you miss the obvious. Someone from the outside can point out what you can’t see.

• Call It Out Say it out loud - This is anchoring. This is loss aversion. The moment you name the bias, you’re already less likely to let it control you.

  
  

Why This Matters

Every great leader I work with faces tough decisions—whether to pivot, which market to enter, or what risks to take. What I admire most about them isn’t that they have all the answers—it’s that they don’t pretend to. They say, “I don’t know. Let’s figure it out together.”

And when they do this, the energy shifts allowing ideas to flow, decisions to get better, and there’s humor, laughter, and those lighthearted moments that make the work not only meaningful but genuinely enjoyable.

Kahneman gave us a gift: a language for understanding our biases.

Blind spots don’t make us weak -they make us human. The question is: do we let them drive—or do we take the wheel ourselves?

Final Thoughts

Most of our decisions aren’t as rational as we think.

• System 1 (fast thinking) is efficient but biased. 

• System 2 (slow thinking) needs to step in when the stakes are high.

• Watch out for framing, anchoring, and cognitive laziness—these are the traps that trip us up the most.

• Use reframing, questioning, pausing, and outside perspectives to break free.

  
  

Better decisions don’t come from being perfect. They come from awareness.

The very moment we recognize the trap, we've already gained an edge.

Want to learn how to avoid the blind spots ? Get in touch Kaleidra Global Advisors