During my high school years, I was an avid reader. then, i got busy and stopped reading when i started college and had a part time job. Just when I started this blog, I started to pick up the habit of reading again.
first book read is a long thick book called awakening the giant within by tony robbins. In the book, one idea in particular caught my eye:
You are reading: Best books about decision making
every decision we make will shape our lives. and therefore every result we have starts with a single decision we make.
From that moment on, I paid close attention to the decisions I made. To be honest, I have made more bad decisions than good ones, but little by little I have improved. The best way to change your life is to change your decision making, no matter how big or small the decision is.
Decision making is a skill that everyone can learn. I even went so far as to say that it is more important to be a good decision maker than a highly productive person.
As always, I learn most of what I know from books: the mindsets of successful people, the fundamental principles of human psychology, decision-making strategies and tactics, and more.
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In this article, I’m going to share with you 10 books I highly recommend to help you get better at making decisions.
1. principles by ray dalio
Principles is a book packed with insight and wisdom from Ray Dalio. For anyone who doesn’t already know, Ray Dalio is the founder, CEO of Bridgewater Associates, a Connecticut-based hedge fund with over $160 billion under management. In Dalio’s words, principles are foundational truths that serve as a foundation for behavior that gets you what you want out of life. they can be applied over and over again in similar situations to help you achieve your goals.
To get what you want in life, you must develop your own set of principles that inform your decision-making process. And for any group or organization to work well, its work principles must be aligned with the life principles of its members.
2. Smart Choices by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. keney and howard raiffa
Unlike big ideas and principles that focus on the organizational level, smart choices is a book that comes with strategies and decision-making formulas for individuals. the book covers how you can make better decisions, especially for important aspects of your life, like buying a house or changing your career.
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The authors suggest that we analyze a decision based on these nine elements: problem, objectives, alternatives, consequences, compensations, coined as proact. You may not need to define all the elements for some smaller options (like what to eat for dinner), but the thoughts that are included will definitely help you make bigger decisions in life.
3. decisive by chip and dan heath
In a nutshell, Decisive gives you a 4-step approach to making better decisions in your life and career. the ideas and viewpoints in the book are supported by extensive surveys of the available literature and research on the subject.
In the book, chip and dan heath present a 4-step decision-making process called adjustment: 1) expand your options, 2) test your assumptions in reality, 3) stand back before deciding, and 4) prepare to be bad.
The book also covers some of my favorite concepts, like evaluating opportunity costs, running experiments to validate your hypothesis, and broadening your perspectives and focusing on your goals.
4. thinking fast and slow by daniel kahneman
Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2002. The thrust of his book, Thinking Fast and Slow, is about the two systems, one conscious and one automatic, in our brains constantly fighting for control of our behaviors.
These two systems are important to us, but unfortunately they don’t always work perfectly together. this leads to errors in memory, judgment, and decisions. Kahneman then teaches us how to deal with these mistakes with fact-backed, research-based strategies.
5. predictably irrational by dan ariely
when it comes to making important decisions, such as deciding what things are worth to us, how we see the world and even how we approach our long-term goals; we try to be as rational as possible and often believe that we are. however, the truth is that we may not be.
in predictably irrational, dan ariely explains the hidden forces that drive our decision-making, which can turn out to be much less rational than we think. then provides strategies and advice on how to make better decisions, especially around money, social interactions, and happiness.
6. malcolm gladwell blink
gladwell’s books are never easy to read. however, the information in blinking caught my attention. The book covers insights, research, and stories about our unconscious minds and snap judgments. Most of us underestimate snap judgments because they are invisible, frugal, and out of our awareness. but it is very valuable, or destructive, because there are times when we have to make decisions in high-pressure, fast-moving situations. Like our conscious mind, it can be trained, with practice and frame, by manipulating our environment
7. the paradox of choice by barry schwartz
i’ve watched barry schwartz’s ted talks countless times and even wrote about the paradox of choice here on this blog. I really think his message includes important concepts that everyone in modern society should learn.
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In the book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz argues that the freedom of choice we have today is at the root of so many people living unhappy and miserable lives. the book shows you how the vast choices you have today frustrate you and make you more likely to make poor decisions.
Even if you’ve made the best decision, you’re more likely to be dissatisfied simply with the presence of other unforeseen alternatives. the author then moves on to provide concrete advice to ease the burden created by this paradox.
8. yes or no by spencer johnson
I once read who got my cheese and spencer johnson’s gift and loved both of them (I even bought them as gifts for family and friends). Like those two books, Yes or No is another thought-provoking story about a young man embarking on a hiking trip with a group.
They use the walk to reflect on the decisions they have made and then discuss how they might make better decisions in the future. One of the best ideas I learned from the book is this:
Our bad decisions were based on illusions that we believed at the time, and our best decisions were based on realities that we recognized at the time.
9. the art of thinking clearly by rolf dobelli
If you love reading about psychology and human behavior, The Art of Thinking Straight is the book you won’t want to miss. This book covers 99 common cognitive errors that we face in everyday life. a paragraph that is better to summarize the book is this:
thought itself is not pure, but prone to error. this affects everyone. even highly intelligent people fall into the same cognitive traps. also, errors are not randomly distributed. we systematically err in the same direction. that makes our mistakes predictable, and this can be fixed to some extent, but only to a certain extent, never completely.
10. mastery by robert greene
mastery is by no means a book written solely to help you make better decisions. Instead, the book covers ideas and strategies for sculpting your mind and life to become the best at what you do. To become the best at what you do, you must go through three different stages: apprenticeship, active-creative, and finally mastery. however, the strategies and tips for achieving mastery at each stage will directly transform your decision-making ability.
In the apprenticeship stage, you absorb as much as you can about the craft and develop social intelligence in the process. during the active-creative stage, it creates a breakthrough by combining tensions and perceptions. and during the final stage, you merge your intuitive thinking with your rational mind to achieve mastery.
good decision making is always worth your time and effort
Like mastering any skill in life, developing good decision-making skills takes time. but the ability to make good decisions will greatly transform the outcome of your life. I just presented a list of books you should read if you want to learn more about decision making.
The next step is really up to you. making the decision to read them and start implementing the knowledge you gain from them in your work and life can be monumentally beneficial to you for the rest of your life.
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