#5 – When (Not) to Make Decisions

Ask yourself:

Are you….

1. Tired:
   1. Physically?
      1. Sleep-deprived, in particular.
   2. Mentally?
   3. Socially?
   4. Emotionally?
2. Hungry, thirsty, or lacking essential nutrients or electrolytes, etc.?
3. Experiencing abnormally low or high blood sugar?
4. Intoxicated?
5. Sick, feverish, or in pain?
6. Taking strong or atypical medications?
7. Abnormally hyperactive, hyperfocused, excessively energetic, or euphoric?
8. Experiencing a threatening or uncomfortable environment?
9. Experiencing a short-term bout of negative or discouraging emotions?
10. Romantically infatuated or libidinous; feeling intense desire or lust?
11. Being persuaded by logical fallacies or excessive biases?
12. Significantly superior or inferior in a relevant way to those around you?
13. Seeking primarily to satisfy or defy the expectations of others?
14. Recently removed from gaining or losing a lot of money?
15. Holding an unreasonable or undeserved victim mentality?
16. Seeking risk as a remedy for boredom or mundanity?
17. Searching for unreasonable confirmation, validation, recognition, or attention by others?
18. Feeling especially bored, isolated, lonely, or unloved?

If any of these temporary conditions are true, you should avoid making consequential decisions or judgments. Eliminate as many of these as possible before analyzing and coming to conclusions. It is particularly important to not make judgments or criticisms of yourself if any of the above questions are true. Have the patience to wait until you achieve healthy conditions to make accurate, effective, and beneficial decisions and judgments. If you have to make a decision before you are able to eliminate conditions harmful to effective decisions, choose the most boring, basic, and inconsequential status-quo option. 

Once you have achieved the proper conditions, return to unresolved decisions with a now-balanced state of clarity and purpose. Your future self will thank you.

9/22/2024 – Salt Lake City, Utah