One common misconception about human decision making is that it’s largely conscious.
Studies are beginning to who how our conscious minds may be little more than after the fact story telling devices.
Considering that humans are the product of millions of years of evolution, and that during that time our ancestors didn’t have a conscious mind, this kind of makes sense.
Whenever there’s an evolutionary change, it’s doesn’t replace the old “part” it just kind layers on top of it.
But that old, unconscious part of us is till there, and still running the show.
Now, this is something that a lot of us don’t like to hear.We like to think that we are in charge, and our decisions are based on our logical thinking and our superior intellect.
But countless psychological studies show the opposite is true. In reality, it’s pretty for us to game each other without even knowing it.
One thing that makes this possible is the ability to deceive ourselves.
Once humans developed language, a few tricksters figured out to use words to con people.
Mother Nature’s natural response was to give us an “intuition” when somebody was lying to us.
The natural response of the con artists was to develop (evolutionarily speaking, not individually) an ability to first con themselves, so they could better con others.
What does all this mean?
Your instincts are incredibly powerful, and usually incredibly accurate.
But only if you listen to them.
Are you?