Playing it "Cool" and Being Patient Leads to Greater Decision Making

Patience is a virtual that leads to wisdom. Some people act and react to any little provocation or stimulus. Others have learned to relax, take in the situation, and then formulate a response that has the greatest chances of success. It doesn't matter if we are discussing business, friendship or conflicts. Stopping for a moment and thinking might make a big difference in how things turn out in the long run.

Our first reptilian brain responds to a challenge using emotion and energy. While it many times can be intuitively correct it doesn't always lead to the best possible choice. When under pressure we sometimes anchor onto a specific piece of information and then interpret all other things in relationship to that negative piece of information.

Our perception becomes skewed and narrow.

When we have the chance to sit back and relax we can get a better perspective of the problem. We can see the wider context of the information, avoid anchoring on negative information and evaluate the possible outcomes. Our second, or logical brain, has an opportunity to see the world from a more holistic perspective.

We open up our brains to other information.

Consider a situation where you just found out a competitor business copied one of your products. In your anger you call the owner and begin to complain about how you are going to take legal action and your going to sue. In a huff you slam down the phone but the problem didn't go away!

Certainly that is one way to handle the situation but is there a better way? Instead you decide to review the product, find out specifically what was copied, you tracked the product and its sales channels, and consulted with an attorney. If needed you can create a solid case as to how and where the copied product was sold.

Perhaps the end result of the two decisions is a few million dollars in legal damages. Or maybe you were able to avoid serious embarrassment when you found out it has not been copied as defined by law. Either way, your ability to slow down and think gave you some options that were not there when you were a slave to your emotions.

There is a beneficial place for the use of the first reptilian brain and the second logical brain. Each can enhance the other when they are placed in proper perspective. Unless you are under immediate threat, you have an opportunity to think about issue and find the best way forward. It requires you to use a little more patience to understand the situation completely and then evaluate the alternatives. As you get older and more wise you will naturally be able to think before acting or commenting which leads to the best possible reflective ability.