Speaker 1: Stop waiting till you're perfect, Just start. Stop waiting to
Speaker 1: feel certain, progress builds confidence. Stop waiting till you feel ready.
Speaker 1: Confidence comes after, not before. Stop waiting till they approve.
Speaker 1: Most people are too scared to even try. Stop waiting
Speaker 1: for it to be easy. What transforms you really is
Speaker 1: the number one health and wellness podcast, Jay Sety, Jay
Speaker 1: Shetty Jet. Hey everyone, it's Jay Shetty. Welcome back to
Speaker 1: On Purpose. If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe.
Speaker 1: It makes a huge difference to us and it makes
Speaker 1: sure you never miss an episode. If you want to
Speaker 1: build a mindset that is prepared for the challenges that
Speaker 1: come up in the world we live in. If you
Speaker 1: want to make sure that you have habits to transform
Speaker 1: your life, if you want to make sure that you
Speaker 1: have the inner world going in the same direction as
Speaker 1: your outer world, this is the place to be. Now.
Speaker 1: How many of you overthink, how many of you procrastinate,
Speaker 1: and how many of you keep going round and round
Speaker 1: in circles with the same thoughts. If you said yes
Speaker 1: to any of those, this episode is for you. It's
Speaker 1: all about creating a clear mind and how to make
Speaker 1: better decisions, how to choose smarter and how to live freer.
Speaker 1: I think all of us are struggling in our lives
Speaker 1: with overthinking. We're overwhelmed with the amount of information. We're
Speaker 1: overwhelmed with the amount of choice. We're inundated with insight data.
Speaker 1: We're being sold to. Our attention is being farmed right.
Speaker 1: People are literally trying to grab hold of our attention,
Speaker 1: whether we're on the street, on the phone, wherever we are,
Speaker 1: and so making better decisions has become harder. This episode
Speaker 1: is going to help you make decisions quicker, smarter, and
Speaker 1: better and help you waste less time procrastinating, overthinking, and
Speaker 1: wasting time on decisions that maybe don't make a difference.
Speaker 1: Let's dive in. Step one is catch the noise. You
Speaker 1: don't have a clarity problem, you have a clutter problem.
Speaker 1: Before we decide, we ruminate, we spiral, we crowdsource, we overthink.
Speaker 1: But Stanford research shows that excessive deliberation reduces decision quality
Speaker 1: by up to twenty five percent due to something known
Speaker 1: as decision fatigue. Now, what is decision fatigue? You might
Speaker 1: be wondering. Decision fatigue is the mental and emotional strain
Speaker 1: resulting from making too many decisions, especially in a row.
Speaker 1: The more choices you make, the worse your decision making becomes.
Speaker 1: This is because every decision, big or small, draws from
Speaker 1: a limited pool of mental energy. This is a concept
Speaker 1: backed by ego depletion theory. Once that pool is drained,
Speaker 1: your brain defaults to either avoidance doing nothing. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you can relate, or impulse choosing the easiest or most
Speaker 1: familiar option. Now think about that for a second. How
Speaker 1: often do you make so many decisions? From the moment
Speaker 1: you wake up, You're thinking about what to wear, what
Speaker 1: to eat, what you're gonna do tonight, what you're going
Speaker 1: to watch, all the different tasks you have to get
Speaker 1: through today, packing the kid's lunch. Right, You've got a
Speaker 1: million tasks, a million things to think about. By the
Speaker 1: end of the day, what happens, you just want to
Speaker 1: do nothing right, You want to get nothing done all.
Speaker 1: What happens is you start making impulsive decisions that you
Speaker 1: regret later. In one study, participants who are forced to
Speaker 1: make many small decisions like choosing products, designs, or preferences
Speaker 1: later performed significantly worse on tasks requiring self control. Now
Speaker 1: that's what I love about this topic. It affects all
Speaker 1: parts of your life, your thinking. The issue is you
Speaker 1: don't have willpower your thinking. The issue is you don't
Speaker 1: have self control. The truth is, when you've become exhausted
Speaker 1: from making lots of small decisions, you lose that power.
Speaker 1: It's a decision making problem. It's not a drive or
Speaker 1: will problem. What this study shows is that over deliberation
Speaker 1: isn't just mentally exhausting. It actively reduces your ability to
Speaker 1: think clearly, increasing the chance to default to what's familiar.
Speaker 1: That's actually one of the reason people like Steve Jobs,
Speaker 1: Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg all minimize daily micro decisions, wearing
Speaker 1: the same clothes to preserve cognitive energy for the bigger decisions.
Speaker 1: They've even found in studies that judges in courts were
Speaker 1: found to give more favorable rulings early in the day
Speaker 1: after many cases, after seeing many people, they actually struggled
Speaker 1: to give favorable rulings. Now, how does this affect you?
Speaker 1: Every should I adds up, every let me think one
Speaker 1: more time drains fuel. So when you deliberate excessively, you
Speaker 1: think you're being thorough, but you're actually weakening your judgment.
Speaker 1: That's why your best decision isn't always the most analyzed.
Speaker 1: It's the one made with a clear, rested mind. It's
Speaker 1: why we say things like let me sleep on it,
Speaker 1: because that clarity that rest helps you make a better decision.
Speaker 1: Now here's an action tip. Protect decision making energy by
Speaker 1: making big decisions early in the day. A lot of
Speaker 1: us start by making our small decisions, as opposed to
Speaker 1: focusing on the big ones. When you waste a lot
Speaker 1: of energy and all the small decisions, you've run out
Speaker 1: of energy by the time it comes to your top priorities.
Speaker 1: So batch the small decisions meals, clothes roots to take.
Speaker 1: Do it the night before, do it a week in advance.
Speaker 1: Also use pre made criteria. If X, then I always do. Why.
Speaker 1: Stop overthinking things that won't matter in five years. Stop
Speaker 1: overthinking replies to people who wouldn't notice if you disappeared.
Speaker 1: Stop overthinking how you look to people who don't look
Speaker 1: out for you. Stop overthinking your path just because it
Speaker 1: doesn't look like theirs. Stop overthinking the past when your
Speaker 1: future is trying to get your focus. Stop overthinking all
Speaker 1: of these other small, insignificant decisions that don't impact the
Speaker 1: quality of your life. Step two, label the type of decision.
Speaker 1: Not all decisions deserve the same energy. That's a quote
Speaker 1: from Jeff Bezos. And here I want to introduce you
Speaker 1: to what's known as type one versus type two framework
Speaker 1: for decision making. Type one is if a decision is
Speaker 1: irreversible and high stakes, think deeply. A Type two decision
Speaker 1: is something that's reversible and low stakes, decide fast. Let
Speaker 1: me say that again. If something is irreversible and high stakes,
Speaker 1: think deeply. If something is reversible and low stakes, decide faster.
Speaker 1: Most people treat every decision in life like life or death.
Speaker 1: That's how they get paralyzed. Right. Most of us think
Speaker 1: this decision will defire my entire life, when in reality,
Speaker 1: you can apply for a new job, you can quit
Speaker 1: this job, you can look for other work, you will
Speaker 1: find another manager. These are all options, but our mind
Speaker 1: makes us feel like there are only two either survive
Speaker 1: or die. And as soon as your brain puts that
Speaker 1: pressure onto you, what happens. You get paralyzed. You stop
Speaker 1: having the ability to make a healthier decision knowing that
Speaker 1: there are always more than two options. For example, let's
Speaker 1: say you're not enjoying your work. Let's say you're not
Speaker 1: doing something you're passionate about. In your head, you think
Speaker 1: there are two options. I either stay here and hate it,
Speaker 1: or I leave and I fail. You don't think about
Speaker 1: the third option. Maybe I should build a new skill.
Speaker 1: Maybe I should update my LinkedIn profile, Maybe I should
Speaker 1: update my resume. Maybe I should start a side hustle.
Speaker 1: These are all opportunities and options that we don't even
Speaker 1: consider because we think there are only two options. When
Speaker 1: we realize that most things are reversible and most things
Speaker 1: are not that high states, we actually expand our worldview.
Speaker 1: Here's a mini action for you. Ask yourself, if I
Speaker 1: choose wrong, can I recover? If yes, then act, If no,
Speaker 1: then investigate further. Most people treat type two decisions like
Speaker 1: type one decisions. Decisions that are reversible and low states.
Speaker 1: We treat them as irreversible and high states. When we
Speaker 1: treat type one decisions like type two decisions, it's a disaster. Right,
Speaker 1: choosing who to marry is a type one decision. It's
Speaker 1: high stakes, and even though it is reversible, it's something
Speaker 1: that's challenging to reverse. So it becomes a disaster if
Speaker 1: we act fast and we don't think about it, and
Speaker 1: I've already talked about how we do the opposite, spend
Speaker 1: more time on the few choices that matter and stop
Speaker 1: wasting brain power on what doesn't. I also want to
Speaker 1: share with you something that I really came across when
Speaker 1: I was at university. I realized you needed seventy percent
Speaker 1: to get a first class degree. Seventy percent, so that
Speaker 1: means somebody got seventy percent and somebody got ninety nine
Speaker 1: percent ended up with the same grade of getting a
Speaker 1: first class. Sixty to seventy in England was a two
Speaker 1: to one, fifty to sixty was a two to two,
Speaker 1: and anything below that was a three. And so when
Speaker 1: you think about that, a lot of us are trying
Speaker 1: to be at ninety nine when all we need to
Speaker 1: do is be at seventy now. Jeff Bezos also shares this,
Speaker 1: most decisions should probably made with around seventy percent of
Speaker 1: the information you wish you had. If you wait for
Speaker 1: ninety percent, in most cases, you're probably being slow. This
Speaker 1: is a really important thing to remember because in the
Speaker 1: process of wanting to be ninety percent perfect, we end
Speaker 1: up not even starting. And this ties into satisficing. A
Speaker 1: concept in decision theory that says good enough is often
Speaker 1: better than perfect, because perfection is a trap and speed
Speaker 1: creates momentum. I want to give you a real life example.
Speaker 1: This is a real Amazon example. In Amazon's early days,
Speaker 1: choosing where to place new fulfillment centers was a type decision.
Speaker 1: If a location underperformed, they'd shut it down or reallocate it.
Speaker 1: But building Amazon Web services, that's a type one decision.
Speaker 1: This required full commitment and long term thinking. Bezos taught
Speaker 1: his team be nimble with reversibles, be deliberate with irreversibles.
Speaker 1: Here's the practical application for you. Ask these three questions.
Speaker 1: If I get it wrong, is the damage small or permanent?
Speaker 1: Can I test this on a small scale before going
Speaker 1: all in? And here's a bonus thought. The enemy of
Speaker 1: speed is not caution, it's confusion. This Bezos framework isn't
Speaker 1: just about fast versus slow. It's about clarity. Knowing what
Speaker 1: kind of decision you're making is the first decision you
Speaker 1: should make. Stop waiting till you're perfect, just start. Stop
Speaker 1: waiting to feel certain. Progress builds confidence. Stop waiting till
Speaker 1: you feel ready. Confidence comes after, not before. Stop waiting
Speaker 1: till they approve. Most people are too scared to even
Speaker 1: try stop waiting till you have more time. You make
Speaker 1: time for what matters. Stop waiting for it to be easy.
Speaker 1: What transforms you really is Step three. Feel first, then
Speaker 1: think Now might sound counterintuitive, but stick with me. One
Speaker 1: of my favorite quotes is from Antonio Dimascio. He said,
Speaker 1: we make our decisions emotionally, then justify them logically. This
Speaker 1: idea from Antonio Domasio is one of the most powerful
Speaker 1: and underacknowledged truths about how we actually make decisions. Let's
Speaker 1: break it down now. Doctor Antonio Domacio is a renowned neuroscientist.
Speaker 1: His most influential work centers on how emotion is essential
Speaker 1: for rational decision making, a direct challenge to the old
Speaker 1: school belief that logic alone leads to better choices. His
Speaker 1: groundbreaking book Descartes Error reshaped modern neuroscience by proving we
Speaker 1: are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines
Speaker 1: that think. Now. Here's the science. Demassio studied patients with
Speaker 1: damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the part of the
Speaker 1: brain that connect emotional processing with rational thinking. These patients
Speaker 1: had normal IQ. They could reason and analyze logically, but
Speaker 1: couldn't make basic decisions, even about where to eat, what
Speaker 1: to wear, or which pen to use. They were emotionally numb.
Speaker 1: As a result, their decision making broke down completely. His conclusion,
Speaker 1: Without emotion, logic stores emotion isn't noise, it's navigation. Here's
Speaker 1: what this really means in real life. You feel something first, desire, fear, excitement, guilt.
Speaker 1: Then your brain builds a logical story to support or
Speaker 1: justify that feeling. Example, you feel anxious about leaving your job,
Speaker 1: so you build a logical case like the market's unstable
Speaker 1: or this isn't the right time. But deep down your
Speaker 1: head visitation might be emotional fear of failure, fear of judgment,
Speaker 1: fear of losing identity. The logic is the cover, the
Speaker 1: emotion is the compass. Feel first, then think clearly. If
Speaker 1: you skip the emotional layer, your logic becomes reactive, not intentional.
Speaker 1: So here's how to use this insight. This is a
Speaker 1: three step emotion check in before big decisions. Name the
Speaker 1: dominant emotion you're feeling. Is it excitement, fear, shame, pressure, envy,
Speaker 1: and then ask is this emotion trustworthy or distorted by
Speaker 1: past wounds? Then engage logic. Now you're making decisions from wholeness,
Speaker 1: not habit, So to me, asking that question what emotion
Speaker 1: is driving this decision and naming it fear, guilt, love, ego?
Speaker 1: Then asking is that emotion trustworthy right now? Will save
Speaker 1: you so much. I'll give an example. If someone hurts
Speaker 1: me and I'm thinking about hurting them back. If I
Speaker 1: ask myself where's that coming from, it's coming from revenge.
Speaker 1: Is that trustworthy right now as an emotion? Probably not
Speaker 1: so how I want to behave and how I want
Speaker 1: to act, Maybe something I regret. Don't ignore your intuition.
Speaker 1: Stop mistrusting your first reaction because it's often your deepest wisdom.
Speaker 1: Stop calling it overthinking when it's actually your soul saying no.
Speaker 1: Stop asking for clarity from others when your nervous system
Speaker 1: already gave you an answer. Stop pretending you don't know
Speaker 1: when you've known all alone. Step four play the ten
Speaker 1: ten ten game. Most regrets aren't from what we choose,
Speaker 1: but from not zooming out. That's from Susie Welch's ten
Speaker 1: ten ten rule. Ask yourself, how will I feel about
Speaker 1: this in ten minutes? How will I feel about this
Speaker 1: in ten months? How will I feel about this? In
Speaker 1: ten years. This activates the door selateral prefrontal cortex, the
Speaker 1: part of the brain responsible for long term thinking, basically
Speaker 1: reducing impulsive errors. Here's a mini action voice record yourself
Speaker 1: answering those three questions. Don't write, speak Speaking activates deeper truth.
Speaker 1: It's a great way of asking yourself. Am I wasting time?
Speaker 1: Am I focusing on the wrong thing? Am I overreacting
Speaker 1: to this situation? Will this matter in ten minutes? Will
Speaker 1: this matter in ten months? Will this matter in ten years?
Speaker 1: Step five create a regret simulation. There's a famous quote
Speaker 1: that says, fear of future regret warps present choices. We
Speaker 1: wrongly fear regret before we decide, but Harvard research shows
Speaker 1: that predicted regret is often exaggerated. Regret feels real. But
Speaker 1: it's a simulation. We have to use it deliberately, not reactively.
Speaker 1: Imagine both paths. Ask yourself, If I choose this and
Speaker 1: it fails, will I respect who I become? Anyway? What
Speaker 1: a great question. If I choose this and it fails,
Speaker 1: will I respect who I became? Anyway? That's your real
Speaker 1: north star, your integrity, not your outcome. Stop aiming for
Speaker 1: a perfect life, Aim for a life you're proud to remember.
Speaker 1: Stop holding back just to stay safe. Safety won't comfort
Speaker 1: you at eighty. Stop letting fear make your decisions. It's
Speaker 1: not the one who has to live with them. Stop
Speaker 1: asking what if it goes wrong? Ask what if I
Speaker 1: never tried? Stop replaying the past and use that energy
Speaker 1: to create a better now. Step number six, ask the
Speaker 1: three identity questions. Don't ask what's smart, ask what's in alignment.
Speaker 1: Western psychology says we should maximize pleasure or avoid pain,
Speaker 1: but Vadic wisdom teaches that the right action is the
Speaker 1: one aligned with your deeper purpose. So ask what kind
Speaker 1: of person do I want to become? Which decision reflects
Speaker 1: that version of me? What am I willing to lose
Speaker 1: to protect that? And you can write down your future
Speaker 1: self in three bullet points and make your choices them
Speaker 1: not as the current you. Deciding who you become is
Speaker 1: the most important decision you'll ever make. But most of
Speaker 1: us decide what we want. We decide what we desire.
Speaker 1: We don't decide who we dream to be. We don't
Speaker 1: desire with skills, what behaviors we wish to have, only
Speaker 1: results we want to see. I hope this is your
Speaker 1: reminder that whether you have the dream job or not,
Speaker 1: whether you have the dream life or not, that you're
Speaker 1: becoming the person you want to be that is ready
Speaker 1: to receive what you deserve. Step number seven, Decide, then move.
Speaker 1: The famous wisdom said, no decision is a decision. The
Speaker 1: brain's anterior singular cortex hates uncertainty. That's why indecision feels
Speaker 1: like anxiety. Action reduces anxiety, not certainty. Once you choose,
Speaker 1: do something physical within five minutes, call the person, send
Speaker 1: the email, book that ticket, cancel that plan. Remember, action
Speaker 1: conquers anxiety, not staying the same, not overthinking, not figuring
Speaker 1: it all out, actually moving forward. I hope these seven
Speaker 1: steps help you towards making better decisions in your life,
Speaker 1: overcoming overthinking, and overcoming procrastination. And I'll see you here
Speaker 1: on another episode of On Purpose. Make sure you tag
Speaker 1: me on TikTok, on Instagram, wherever you share all of
Speaker 1: the insights that you're gaining. And remember, I'm forever in
Speaker 1: your corner and I'm always rooting for you. If you
Speaker 1: love this episode, you love my conversation with doctor Joe
Speaker 1: Dispenser on why stressing overthinking negatively impacts your brain and heart,
Speaker 1: and how to change your habits that are on autopilot.
Speaker 1: Listen to it right now. How many times do we
Speaker 1: have to forget until we stop forgetting and start remembering,
Speaker 1: that's the moment of change. One cares how many times
Speaker 1: you fell off the bicycle if you ride the bicycle,
Speaker 1: Now you ride the bike.