Rational Thinking and Irrational Behavior
Credits: Bill Watterson
Humans are very good at irrational behaviour. Whether it's neglecting our health or procrastinating on important tasks, we often know what's right but end up doing what's wrong. Why do we so often act irrationally?
Let’s take two common cases.
Imagine someone has a report due at work in two weeks. Logically, they understand that starting the report early would help them avoid a last-minute rush and produce better work. Despite this, they might spend the early days of the deadline period on trivial activities like browsing social media or watching TV instead of starting the report. As the deadline nears, they experience increasing stress and pressure that could have been avoided by starting earlier.
This behavior is irrational because it prioritizes immediate pleasure or avoidance over the long-term advantages of early preparation.
Another classic example of irrational human behavior is the sunk cost fallacy.
Imagine you bought a $100 concert ticket that can't be refunded. On the day of the concert, you're feeling sick and would rather stay home and rest. Even though you know going to the concert won’t help you feel better and resting would be better, you choose to go because you don’t want to waste the $100 you spent.
The sunk cost fallacy happens when people stick with a decision just because they’ve already invested time, money, or effort, rather than considering current and future benefits. In this case, the $100 spent is a "sunk cost"—money that can’t be recovered.
Rationally, whether to attend the concert should depend on how it affects you now, not on the money already spent. Sticking to the decision based on past spending is irrational because it doesn’t match your current needs or goals.
If you’ve read this far, it’s likely that you’re seeking solutions. I believe there are three major reasons why we act irrationally.
Self-Control issues. This includes social influences, biases and emotional management
Habits
Short-term thinking
Like everything else in life one has to figure things out oneself. But I am happy to share two suggestions:
Mindfulness - Lack of self-control often stems from lack of mindfulness. If we understand where our awareness is directed, it becomes easier to stay focused and think more rationally. The flashlight analogy is an excellent way to grasp the concept of meta-awareness. After reading Amishi Jha’s book 'Peak Mind,' I learned why we get distracted and how to improve focus. I strongly recommend reading her book.
Discipline - We need to constantly exercise our mental muscles. While we may not have perfect self-control, improvement comes from persistent effort. Forming good habits is a great way to build discipline. Consider reading 'Atomic Habits' and start making small, meaningful changes.
Lastly, developing long-term thinking is more about being smart and understanding where your benefit lies. More here.
Hope this helps!
Bang on. Your article very much talks about my behaviour as well. I am in the habit of procrastinating all actions of mine which stresses me out when the deadline approaches. At times, this is also because I am not aware how to go about completing the task at hand. When actually I complete the task, then I realised that how simple the task was and I could have completed much earlier if I knew how to make a beginning. Some times in life, it has also rather helped me in giving my brain time to mull over an issue and create space for greater creativity and innovative ideas, thereby achieving better results.
Great article! Very helpful 😊