Programming is all about mindset and decision-making,

The world’s most valuable skill:

Decision making

But there is no school for this.

It takes a lot of trial and error to become good at it.

Here are 10 cognitive distortions & how to break through each one:

1 . Anchoring Bias Over-reliance on the first piece of information available. There’s a popular saying about negotiations stating, “The first one to speak, loses”.

Solution:

Always take feedback and think about all the conclusions Once you’ve done — filter it out

2/ Availability Heuristic We tend to overestimate the importance of information available to us. Why? Human cognition takes these shortcuts to aid in decision-making

Solution:

Get all the information you need to make a decision. Cut the worst ones and now compare the rest.

3/ Choice Supportive Bias Tendency to choose short-term positive even if a choice has flaws People ignore the long-term negatives over short-term positives

Solution:

Think about both long-term & short-term If a short-term decision does not help in long-term growth — avoid it

4/ Confirmation Bias Only listening to information that confirms our preconception People don’t accept an alternative point of view about things we have strong preconceptions about.

Solution:

Approach someone you know who sees things differently Be open to their ideas

5/ Information Bias Tendency to seek information when it does not affect action. One can often make more accurate predictions based on the information available

More is Less, less is more

Solution: Use multiple sources of information Filter out the information

6/ Outcome Bias – Judging a decision based on the outcome rather than how exactly was the decision made at that moment.

Solution:

Think intentions first, then think about the outcomes. Dividing attention between intentions and outcomes.

7/ Conservatism Bias People favor prior evidence over new information First ideas are always criticized

Solution:

Believe the assumption that we could be wrong and our decisions could be incorrect.

8/ Recency Bias

The tendency to weigh the latest piece of information more heavily than older data makes investors behave irrationally

Solution:

Keep a record in order to keep the big picture in mind. Make a log on long-term performance

9/ Blind Spot Bias Failing to recognize our own cognitive bias is the biggest bias in itself People notice cognitive biases in others more than themselves

Solution:

Solicit feedback in the right way Surround yourself with thinkers Examine your past to see patterns

10/ Survivorship bias It is the act of focusing on successful people, businesses, or strategies and ignoring those that failed.

Solution:

Always get all the pieces of information including the negative ones

Thanks for reading

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