Dangerous Decisions: Stopping Before We Start

Picture this scenario: It’s 11pm, after a long day at work, and your laptop screen is filled with ticket information for that family vacation you so desperately need. 

$4000. IT’S BEYOND YOUR BUDGET, BUT YOU REALLY WANT TO GO. AT 11PM. 

Let’s have a moment of honesty here, is this the best time to make this decision?

You probably wouldn’t make this kind of decision at work - $4000 in a budget-blowout - so why make this decision now?

What if we could pause and make a better decision? 

What if we had a framework to help us say “I’m feeling this way, or I find myself in such-and-such a situation, I probably need to slow down my decision making” - what if?

Let me introduce you to HALTS. It’s not rocket science. It’s easy to remember, but it will save you from making some painful decisions (sometimes). 

HALTS:

H - Hungry

A - Angry

L - Lonely

T - Tired

S - Stressed

When we’re any of these things - hungry, angry, lonely, tired, or stressed - we have an incredible ability to make terrible decisions!

Once, when I was hungry after a day hiking in the Himalayan foothills, I made the decision to head off on my own - in the dark - on an unknown trail. No major search and rescue ensued, but it wasn’t my brightest moment.

Tired, in the middle of the night - while driving - a friend’s wife drove them 400 miles (~5 hours) in the wrong direction. 

Our decisions matter. They matter in business. They matter at home. 

To make better decisions, sometimes we need to learn to know ourselves a little better and acknowledge, to ourselves, how we’re doing.

Trust me, if you want to make better decisions, practice HALTS.