Even if you have all the right practical, rational information, when you're in a state of fear, anxiety, or stress, it is impossible to make sound, rational decisions. These states are innately emotional states where cognition is bypassed. When you're afraid, a part of your brain (amygdala) releases hormones that prepare your body for a "fight or flight" response. Humans struggle with having control when we're in these states because the amygdala has few connections to the rational parts of our brain, like our cortex.

This system is a really old brain process that is believed to have been an evolutionary adaptive trait that helped humans survive. A "fight or flight" response is sometimes the best strategy for survival in the face of real fear.

The human brain has a preoccupation with danger and fear. Sometimes our fear can be real or imagined. In the case of anxiety, what we fear can be something nebulous that may or may not happen in the future. Once again, evolutionary adaptation is believed to explain why we constantly and naturally scan for danger. This is great for survival, but terrible for rational decisions making.

If you want to make better financial decisions, that are truly rooted in cognition, focus on minding your emotional and physiological state. Before you make decisions, get into the right state for decision-making. High-performing individuals, like athletes understand the importance of the state they are in to produce optimal results.

Getting into the right state for decision making is a relatively easy thing to do. The hard part is remembering to do it. A lot of the things we can do to calm our nervous systems are simple. Things like going for a walk, focusing on our breathing or connecting with others. The kinds of things that help us make decisions are the kinds of things that you might find on a list of daily habits for artists or entrepreneurs. This doesn't surprise me because that kind of work requires a clear, calm, focus and an ability to make good decisions.

Finding what works for you requires exploration and a willingness to observe one's self moment to moment, day by day - a simple practice where the hardest part is often remembering to do it.

Approaching how we make decisions by first making sure we're in the optimal decision-making state might seem silly and extra. But the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our decisions. Decisions that are within our control. So, why not apply a simple, even if seemingly silly, technique to increase the likelihood that the decisions we make are cognitively sound and in our best interest?