How to Make Better Decisions - Decision-Making Mental Models - Using Intuition | Tim Ferriss

[@timferriss]

Take 10 seconds and sign up for my free "5-Bullet Friday" newsletter: go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Each Friday, you’ll get a short email from me with five things I've discovered that week, sending you off to your weekend with fun and useful things to ponder and try. 🙌

[@jai_bartlett]

I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say you've really helped change my life for the better. Thanks so much!

[@kodoan411]

Definitely on mine - Tim is the "good Lex Luthor" we all benefit from.

[@vkadijk]

Definitely! I second this :)

[@eduardobarbosa9413]

The mental tools I learned from his videos and books have greatly changed my life for the better.

[@saralacombe2692]

I concur

[@5555Latest]

I don't like people speaking for me but yes the world is better with Tim in it.

[@mochiwaffles]

Whenever I struggle to make a decision(esp. between two choices), I'd feel a lot of contractions in my head when thinking about one option, whereas I don't really have to think twice about the other. It's almost like I keep trying to convince myself to choose the one I think I "should" do and keep asking myself why I don't want to go for something that is seemingly good even when it doesn't "feel" right. And I end up ruminating endlessly because I can't seem to explain or understand it with reason no matter how hard I try. But thanks to you, now I know that the right decision should not cause too much struggle and unpleasant sensations in the body. If it feels right then it's probably right, and I should trust my intuition.

[@simplycol4419]

Perfect is the enemy of done.

[@moniquemurphy4851]

Love this.

[@intentionally]

I love the idea behind the "whole body yes." So often the heart, gut, and mind can have different opinions. Going to be using this methodology going forward!

[@jakeh2049]

This crazy wack job/spiritual comedian dude Nick Sun taught me to do a similar “body check”. Super interesting, I personally view it as “subconscious you choosing something while pretending to be your body check” but either way it’s equally valid. For me it was extremely subtle but he has a video (how to body test) you can check out, may be useful for difficult decisions.

[@TylerSinden]

It's so weird seeing Tim say "ladies and germs" and not just hearing him, but actually seeing him say it too 😂

[@crashtestjustin]

Funny finding you over here....

[@TylerSinden]

@@crashtestjustin 😂😂 I'm everywhere

[@parshantjuneja4811]

Lol u r right but that’s so weird

[@crashtestjustin]

@@TylerSinden the one who covers all the internet. Your knowledge must be all encompassing 😦

[@TylerSinden]

@@crashtestjustin hahah if only...

[@danielmurray9820]

there is so much noise in our lives it can be hard to work from intuition, even recognize it., should you want to use intuition. THis can mess up the whole body ... as they interplay. Well worth working on, I imagine it gets more effective the longer you do it. That "misuse" of intuition a very interesting point. Great point of reversible and small decisions. best/most likely/worst case can be good too ... and addressing the ability to deal with worst case scenario. It can take "needless" or excessive, the stress out of decisions. Great piece.

[@NiquiGirl]

I've said it so many times, why not say it on his videos: Tim Ferris is one of the greatest, most profound, out of the box, original thinkers of our day. There; now it's written 😎

[@crashtestjustin]

Making easily reversible decisions as fast as possible is gold to having more decision making energy in life. We often see it as "productivity hacks" (laying out clothes the day before etc..) but extending it to the daily decisions we don't realize have a lasting impact is a great way to safeguard from that daily mental fatigue that builds up much quicker than we would like.

[@steveatx8295]

Agree, for me intuition in my gut says look further; if gut says no, it is no, if gut and heart are yes, the brain engages to figure out risk and ROI. Learning how to parse gut from fear and gut from greed will calibrate you well. Fear is a false negative, greed is a false positive. If either come up wait to choose, and maybe time will choose for you. Alternative; if i am getting the greed signal, i choose no, as someone or something is appealing to my desire for big outcomes.

[@rfsalad4118]

Profound words!

[@crunchycar]

Summary: - If the decision is reversible (it can be cancelled, you can get a refund, etc), save your decision making energy for when the stakes are higher. - a risk and benefit list is better than a pro and cons list. - look for a yes signal in your head, heart and gut. if something feels off even after doing risk benefit analysis, go with your intuition which is a no. - but make sure you don't only use intuition by itself to make a decision.

[@everydayvacaytaj]

That was useful. I have been noticing a contraction around a place that I was considering moving but I was thinking that it was just a combination of fear and excitement about making a big move. And my mind keeps coming in to think about all of the potential fun and good things about the location, not taking into account (or overriding) the contracting feelings in my body.

[@andrew_zieg]

Thank you for sharing! I came across "Mental Models" in the Almanack of Naval Ravikant recently which made this video catch my eye. Took action on it by making a mental model for game theory (currently a college student...in game theory): 1. Optimization - making the best decision possible given the constrains (ex: budget, time, etc) 2. Take others decisions into consideration (seeing multiple POVs) 3. Humans aren't robots. Know when to use the numbers or to trust your gut/emotions. I think the last point relates really well to the intuition you talked about in this video.

[@carlosuter3341]

Nice

[@MultipleCareers]

Tim is a mind reader! Was thinking a lot about decision-making lately. Using intuition and listening to your body is so underrated, and this heuristic is definitely useful. One thing I also do for more significant decisions (after weighing off the usual risk/benefit, pros cons, etc.), is imagining which decision I would regret (more) 3 years from now, 10, and 20 years from now, because we tend to value things differently over various time horizons, and it puts things in perspective.

[@MereMortalsBookReviews]

Agreed so hard on the reversible decisions or flexible. Ones that let you just go ahead and make an action, which you can easily shift away from when needed. Save your energy for the bigger things in life. Appreciate the video TimTim

[@phillipmckinzie7376]

I think “intuition” can also keep you from doing things you should. For instance, when you know you should and you don’t feel that honest sense of wrongness or gut check but you spend so much time avoiding, dreading, or procrastinating because it’s not something you may necessarily like or enjoy. You can overthink or get worked up thinking of all the reasons you wouldn’t like doing that thing to a point where you practically imagine or manifest a “no” simply to justify doing something else or finding another distraction, kicking the can a bit further down the road.

[@ralphylad]

Great comment, I was recently offered a life changing career opportunity a few community commitments I have which would have had to be dropped sparked something in me which caused that gut feeling to say no, after contemplating and procrastination for 72 hours getting worked up as you have said, I had to turn down the opportunity. As soon as it was taken out of my hands I knew I had made the wrong decision and I’ve been absolutely gutted ever since. Sometimes it’s worth just rolling the dice people! The pain of regret is often way worse than the fear of change. Believe me! I may never get a chance like that ever again!

[@felixgonzalez6466]

@@ralphylad wow thank u for ur comment

[@SamMartinPeakPerformance]

This just makes me think Tim would be a greater presenter for wildlife shows

[@rohankurakure3055]

Love the short form content like this

[@TomStephensontraining]

Great advice, I listened to you advice last year in March you mentioned in your podcast (forget which one as I listen to most) don't let this time go to waste. It gave me the idea to start a KZbin channel which has been a fun challenge, habit that has kept me distracted from the noise and focused on learning something new. Thanks Tim! Keep up the great work!

[@peachshoes3793]

What's the name of your channel

[@sual5871]

How I think about decision-making by Tim • Marking reversible or fixable decisions as quickly as possible. • Risk and benefit analysis. • A whole body yes from brain chest and gut.

[@RobertNowland]

Really hoping Tim has batched a tonne of KZbin videos for us again, need more of this in my life

[@JonathanNKhorsandi]

great that you're calling bullshit on intuition as a license to justify what you want because you want it. spot on

[@mariannaoneill]

Straight down to the point and super practical advice. Thank you, Tim.

[@sentientbeans]

Great video! Always been confused around What is intuition and what is actually fear of doing something new and the unknown. Great point using risk benefit analysis and doing a whole body scanning.

[@Andrew-dg7qm]

Totally agree with this. And glad you’re calling BS on the unprepared who tout their apparent skills or make excuses for sloppy work

[@mairtinoleannain8567]

1. Look to make reversible or fixable decisions quickly 2. Risk / Benefit Analysis - Compare potential upside and potential downside 3. Head, Heart, Gut check - look for No signals

[@tonygsuriano]

Timbo! You don't have to do these videos and I thank you deciding to do them. Also, Im reading Principles and was just discussing the reversalable and irreversible decision making. Cheers!

[@MakeWay4CJ]

Oddly enough, I’ve not read anything that spoke of the value of reversibility and even though it sounds like common sense, I’d like to read more about it. Do you mind sharing the full title of the book you mentioned?

[@rodrigomaroja5758]

One thing that really helped me on saving a lot of time in decision making is to analyze the delta between the optimum decision and the good enough decision. Sometimes we debate on such small differences, “X” is better, “Y” is prettier, but the big decision is already made.

[@ultiumlabs4899]

so which one do you choose? the optimum decision or good enough decision?

[@rhondahurwitz]

I really appreciate how to check in with your head/heart/gut after a very rational analysis for a big decision; and what to do when on paper it made sense, but the body signs point the other way. I faced this recently -- was a relief to go with my intuition.

[@GabeKrebs]

Your video production has gotten so much better over the years

[@sozotube7680]

But what if intuition is actually just fear or the unknown? If you say intuition can be used to say "yes", why then can it not be wrong if the feeling is "no"?

[@glade_maker]

Thanks Tim, these are great and simple, applicable concepts to sort things out! I now recognise how important it is to concile as much as possible the "practical", the "rational" and the "intuitive" (whatever these mean, but I'm referring to your three main points here). Great talk! Also, you're looking good man, so happy to see you in such a lovely mood, still good old Tim but a little looser and lighter! Btw, really had a blast diving into #500, amazing stuff, thanks so much for sharing that conversation!!

[@surrenderinfaith]

It would be interesting to get your thoughts on making ‘whole body’ based decisions when you have unhealed trauma. The body is after all, the unconscious mind, so if we have fear based beliefs or negative programming where we feel fundamentally unsafe, it will be 10x harder to make accurate/helpful bodily decisions. Learned this the hard way 😂 Curious to also know if your personal body based decisions were a more reliable source post-psychedelics and trauma processing?

[@nathan-clark]

Hoping this is a sign of more video-native content to come. This video, by the way, is looking crissssspppppp.

[@bperez8656]

He’s so hot and well put together in his brain and physique

[@mindtheprivacy]

One of our most brilliant minds here.

[@jessmason2112]

Introspection and intuitive perspective are vital to good decisions. Not only in making good decisions but in survival itself. For example, maybe I shouldn't take that shortcut down that dark alley. For a very simple example.

[@user-gu7wb3ij4p]

Thanks Tim. The whole body yes, mental model is amazing and eye opener for me. God bless you friend!

[@henryspragge]

He's a good speaker. Enjoyed the video, thanks. Was helpful.

[@ebranner]

These are great. Love the short video format! Thanks!

[@canitbeapplied2500]

I feel that risk/benefit ratio is difficult to know usually, thus with big decisions I like to put the worst/best case scenarios and there likelihoods against each other. Also consider even if you fail will you gain experience or relationships you can use in the future?

[@yoaaliyan9427]

I was introduced to mental models initially from 4 Hour Body and I read about *Poor Charlie's Almanack* in Tools of Titans and I read it in addition to Shane Parrish's Farnam Street directory of mental models. I downloaded fs.blog all mental models way back in 2018 and have been using them. Another good read was "*Tao of Charlie Munger*" and I really enjoyed that book. Cheers, thanks for talking about Decision-making mental models.

[@LeveledSessions]

Tim have your team Use an eye light or catch light! Your eyes look dark! Something far away is good or even just a circular bounce board off to one side to give that shine or highlight in your eyeballs! It’s huge, even with pros who have been filming forever, looks like they had great diffusion over yah, but forgot to add the simple little catch light!

[@tavoleyva8235]

- Flexible/Reversibles decisions -> Not mission-critical, reversible, refundable, etc. - Risk/Benefit analysis. - A whole-body yes -> Scan head, chest, heart. - Intuition -> After you did your homework, go for your intuition.

[@monicabitzermartin2433]

Thanks - this was really helpful. From a master over-thinker. Updated my research model temporarily today - at least now I have something to change tomorrow.

[@edgardosantana]

The timing of this is excellent Tim! This reminded me a bit of the "in-betweenesodes" of the podcast such as the "not-to-do list" or "the art of letting bad things happen". Enjoyed that "vintage Tim" vibe! (Gotta say too that I've been enjoying the more subtle topics you've touched on conversations like the 500th episode and the recent episode with Josh Waitzkin).

[@rubymemphis64]

I love it when you say ladies and germs.

[@damondahl]

incredible video format Tim! I love the nature background!

[@dakotahayden6937]

Perhaps an additional consideration is understanding how risk averse you are and how that can lead to an incorrect gut decision. I've never understood Bitcoin as an investment and my risk-averse instinct has consistently told me to stay away, and that has been completely wrong - at least up until now.

[@PhDFernandoCoach]

According to my experience, the more I feel calm and centered, the better my intuition works. Heart coherence plays a crucial role in this, since it allows me to get into my state of peace easier. Could you tell me if heart coherence has been helpful for decision making, Tim? Thanks 🙏

[@coachjordanhardgrave]

This was awesome, Tim. I have also found if you pick up food in your hand you will feel a yes or no whether it's healthy and good to eat within a few seconds.

[@sunpowered]

Awesome video quality, Tim!!

[@RoseMabwa-s4h]

Great simple 3 tips to use when making a decision. Thanks

[@pjfo9714]

Just subscribe. Been looking for this kind of channel. Nice to listen while driving. Improvement is the biggest room in the world. Thanks!

[@mykytapysarevskyi5622]

That's so amazing to find it here, Tim! Thank you for sharing it! Went through the course on psychology to get the same definition you share here!

[@kilian4770]

I dreamed of Tim tonight, lol we played a sci-fi strategy board game. We had to figure out how to connect but it worked in the end. Cheers Tim! + everyone here! gut + heart + head here we go!

[@BrunoRodrigues-fw9ri]

Thank you Tim for putting out new content.

[@wanderlusttom]

These are super valuable. More of these tidbits Tim!

[@justinc6861]

Tim you are a wizard thanks for all your tips over the years

[@bazmalaza85]

there are not many like Tim. but there are more and more.

[@mblasini]

This is awesome, Tim. Just what I was looking for.

[@Tertti_Tenhola]

Thanks Tim once again. Love the minimalism and nature setting of the video. Also you seem to be getting younger all the time.

[@ben3364]

Problem is...(for example)... When given an opportunity to advance your career into a position of more responsibility, you will almost always have an uneasy feel. If you always let the uneasy feeling over-ride, you'd never push yourself, never publically speak, etc.

[@bijoyamukherji]

Oh I love this, what a fabulous piece of information ❤🙏🏼 thank you! blessings ✨

[@430amtrader5]

Your intuitive feeling about a decision depends highly on your past experience or lack of it. If you've never done something, you'll probably feel some anxiety or an "off feeling" in your gut / chest / head. You might get a "tight chest" or an "off feeling in the gut" just because the decision is slightly outside your comfort zone. Therefore you might always say "no" to very good high reward decisions, even if the risk is just slightly higher than you used to. So, Tim, what is your response to this ? I think you should make as many as possible decisions, where "everything says yes logically / risk benefit is great" - BUT you have a bad gut / heart / chest feeling about it. These are THE BEST decisions you can ACTUALLY make, because they expand your comfort zone very quickly AND are likely to turn out well (if your risk benefit calc is on point).

[@everydayvacaytaj]

I was wondering about this and just made a comment about this that I thought the contracting feelings I've been having is just fear and excitement about making a big move and doing something new. I know in the past I've had that feeling and done something and it ended up being really good. But I've also had that feeling and done something and it ended up being bad. So I don't know. And who am I to say that something "ending up bad" wasn't exactly what was supposed to happen in order for me to learn something or experience something else later anyway? It all just ends up being a huge mindfuck

[@thankyouand3260]

@@everydayvacaytaj well, good, but you forget one important thing, what I am saying is you can't judge after making 1-2-3 decisions. You need to make 50-100 decisions where you have bad gut feelings but logically good benefit - and then see and learn and decide. Best example is approaching a woman you like and introduce yourself and try to get a date with her. A bad gut feeling is guaranteed here. But it's just a pussy coward anxiety, nothing else. And do 100s of these, something amazing will happen. TLDR - lots of times a bad gut feeling is just your weakling anxiety, so tell it go f itself

[@calebsimpson5216]

Found this very helpful. Especially the portion about "head heart and gut" I get myself into lots of trouble when I ignore this, yet I STILL DO IT. Any tips for make sure I listen and OBEY my "head, heart, and gut?"

[@olyabozhinov8021]

Awesome video! I was really struggling with this. And it almost seems like everyone is talking about mental models nowadays. Than you for sharing!

[@lessmore444]

Mark Manson’s concept of “F*ck yes, or no” has also been helpful in streamlining decision making.

[@desipenguin]

I came to know about "Hell Yes, or No" from Derek Sivers

[@jakeh2049]

Beauty! Thanks Tim, I think this will be helpful. Keep up what you’re doing it’s great

[@Angel-cu5mf]

wow the whole body yes tip was gold!

[@waynelast1685]

Tim: Do these tips apply to relationships? If analysis says no but your heart says yes, then what? For example, follow your heart even if financially you know it might be risky ( assuming no other negatives).

[@EldhoseJoseph]

Depends on factors. Decision making is not so simple unless you have a simple logical problem. How do you decide between high risk high gain vs low risk low gain decisions? Low risk high gain vs no risk low gain? Low risk low gain vs no risk no gain?

[@suspence25]

I just bought a truck and it was a great price, had low miles and was really well taken care of. My whole body told me to do it. I’d been looking for a long time and I knew what I wanted and needed. When I saw it, it didn’t take me long to say yes. Same with my house and most importantly, when I decided I wanted to marry my wife. The bigger things in life for me seems easy. Now those smaller things.... what to cook tonight? Hello Fresh.

[@katiemc3712]

Really helpful. Used it immediately to make a decision. Thanks Tim!

[@arielsoothy]

Thank you for this video. Would be great to hear more about decision making.

[@ParisSantiago]

UNHELPFUL INTUITION 🤯 Thank you for this wording ✨ Loving this color shirt 🔔

[@Josecunyat]

What happens with decisions that are more complex than a simple YES/NO? For example if you have a flat (with a big terrace) in a little town you have to re-build or sell. In that scenario you can re-build the house and start living there, but the cost might be a little bit too high. On top of that the area is quiet, sunny (and that is good) but you cannot really have a social life there (and that is bad). The other option is to sell the flat, and take the profits to help in the purchase of another flat... In that scenario you can pick the area of the city that you prefer (if you can afford it), you can choose an area where you can be social... (what is good) But the flat for sure has no terrace and is not as big. The good thing is that you can rent a room or two to help pay the flat. In this case the decision is not a yes or no. Is this or that... And there are many factors that make the decision really complex.... Is a total brainfuck.

[@naished]

Where’s episode 506? Best episode in a really long time

[@seanovaa929]

this video was sooooo helpful. Thank you!

[@jimallen8186]

Regarding “whole body decision” and ‘heart/chest’ / ‘gut,’ while you may perceive these sensations in these locations, isn’t this really the effects of “the lizard brain” making its case? While “whole body” awareness may be valuable to making a decision, can this also be misleading when studying how we actually make decisions?

[@TomSimak]

I love using my gut and heart to dictate ‘yes’

[@sozotube7680]

Can you talk more about "risk benefit" shocked i haven't heard of this over pro/con.. or where do recommend i read more on this? Thanks Tim!

[@RichardPrussIsHere]

There is an implicit mental model in the Risk/Benefit model part, where decisions need to be actionable.

[@carejohn5406]

I struggle to make decisions on two important things, it's been a mistake I keep making for years and I figured write things down to remember not to make bad decision again

[@johntibaldi9496]

Love videos like this! Keep them coming!!

[@jimallen8186]

Concerning “whole body decision” and having essentially a consensus of yes to proceed else better sit and wait on it, what about when time concerns prevent you from doing such?

[@paulwarren8832]

helpful video...potential topic for a future Ferriss book?…now's there's a decision!!!

[@paulwarren8832]

@@PînnedbyRussellbrand What a shame you had to create a fake account, pretend to be Tim Ferriss and try to scam me. I hope and pray things improve for you...take care 👍🏼🙏🏼

[@lazitazen6882]

Very helpful 🌷 Thank you 💗

[@vijaybansod186]

This is for thinking thinks through by making adjustable choices.

[@thefulcrum]

True, Vijay. But sometimes optionality isn't the thing to be optimised for. Sometimes having irreversible or "non-adjustable" choices are what's needed to keep focused.

[@NatalieZavizion]

What if I feel "NO" contractions pretty often, should say NO to every single thing?

[@kathyreese4052]

Try saying no and see how life changes 😊

[@spiritofmatter1881]

Don't neglect loins. They are a very important center to look into. Same as womb and sex for people with womb/vegina. Love the whole body yes approach!

[@KarinaMirzalievaMaxy]

Thank you 😊☕ I'll try listen to it more carefully

[@evrettej]

Very insightful as always. Thank you Tim!

[@cashvsbeauty]

Thank you buddy, good to see you.

[@lastjedi9442]

U r looking healthy this year Tim 👍🏻

[@TylerSinden]

Risk vs benefit seems a much more beneficial way to go about things instead of pros cons.

[@niraj807]

Thank you Tim...you are awesome

[@lukecatledge8376]

I would like to see more of these. Thanks

[@Jefrejtor]

This is good advice, but under one assumption: that you can't lie to yourself too well. You touched on it near the end, but IMO it needs to be emphasised more.

[@clementekpo7606]

Thanks dude I learnt something

[@martinpaveymusic309]

Nice t-shirt TimTim! Thank you for this video. Very refreshing - where did you get the t-shirt?