The Jelly Candy Theory: Don't Dwell on Difficult Decisions

Think about a decision you're having a hard time making. It could be choosing a new computer, a new career-based decision, or something completely different.

You first should stimulate your mind a little bit by indulging in some brain games. Then, think about the best decision you should make.

Could it be that simple? You haven't spent hours weighing the pros and cons, you haven't created a spreadsheet for the small details, you haven't asked your friends and family for their opinion, and you haven't done any of those brain-draining things you usually do when you need to make a tough decision. But according to a pair of psychological studies from the Kellogg School of Management, you've now made the statistically best possible choice.

The more you think, the less certain you will be

Let's say that you're shopping for an engagement ring, you've already seen 5 different rings and you're asked to choose your favorite one of the. However, after half an hour you have to repeat this exercise. You may think that you will choose the same ring and give the same interpretation, But that is not the case.

Two researchers in the US imitated this test. To discover how people choose the things they best like, instead of shoppers they studied college students, and instead of engagement rings they used jelly candies.

The results were amazing. The students who were asked for a rationale for their choice were the most likely to change their minds when asked the same question after only 40 minutes, while the students who chose the piece of candy without thinking fixed their opinion every time.

The researchers also conducted another experiment in which people were asked to choose between apartments based on nine different criteria, and they got the same results. People who spent less time thinking had more stable choices.

It seems unexpected. But it makes sense. The deeper you think, the more variables you allow to cloud your decision. Even your current mood, the food you ate, your morning routine, or anything else can change your decision.

However, when you choose quickly and firmly, you don’t give these variables time to influence your decisions. Instead, you can bypass them to choose your preferences directly, which is better in the long run.

For example, the real estate market is very on its peak right now and there is competition for every home. If you want to find a place to live let alone a place you will feel good about for a long time, you will do yourself a favor when you spend less time thinking about your favorite place.

The more you think, the worse your choices will be

The brain teasers you were asked to play in the beginning weren’t just for fun. It improves all the major decisions you will make in your life.

The aforementioned researchers wanted to find out whether overthinking hinders better decision-making in a concrete way, not just making choices. So they devised another test, this time dividing the participants into two groups and asking them to rate the quality of a car based on a number of obvious and measurable features such as distance traveled in a liter of fuel, available legroom, and so on.

Half of the group was asked to think carefully about the car variables, and then rank them in order of importance, while the other half was asked to solve word puzzles for a few minutes, and then rank the cars.

The results were incredible. When cars had only a few simple variables, deep thinking helped determine the best ones. However, as the number of features increased, the group that solved the word puzzles without thinking about the features did better. It may sound counterintuitive, but perhaps you can understand the results if you think about it thoroughly.

Try to remember an incident in which you had to make a difficult decision. Perhaps you had several variables to consider, and your choice would have a great impact on your life. You thought long and hard, asked friends, did a research, and then made your choice. However, you may have missed some important points and not made the best choice.

For now, consider a similar situation. But you went for a walk or played with your kids or did anything else to distract yourself from the decision instead of focusing on the details. Maybe you even went on vacation, and when you came back the answer was clear. It's not just a myth; thinking less helps you achieve measurable better results in your life.

These two ways of making a decision consciously and unconsciously are like searching in a dark room with a flashlight against a dim light, making a decision with your unconscious mind is like using a nightlight. The room is a bit dark, but everything in it is so light you can see and consider all the different aspects of your decision, but using your conscious mind is like searching with a searchlight; You are illuminating a small area with a very bright light. But you overlook other important areas and you can't see them at all.

Do this for the next ten minutes

Perhaps you are preparing yourself to buy a house, a car, or another large item. Perhaps you are trying to choose a career or decide to get married or have children. Or maybe you're just having trouble deciding where to go on your next vacation.

Whatever major decision you have to make, studies have proven the following, to make the decision that is statistically best, not just the best decision for you personally, don't overthink it.

In conclusion

Before you make your decision, take a short walk, play with your children, or solve a Rubik's Cube. Whatever you do, distract yourself from the decision for at least a short time. When you think about the matter again, you will know immediately what you need to do.