By Mitch Rice
Whether playing sports, handling a big project, or managing family matters, you’ll face obstacles in every phase of life. High-stakes decisions will test how you handle pressure, uncertainty, and the weight of consequences. Some people experience psychological and physiological changes that can impact judgment.
However, the true champion is the one who stands strong during the crisis. So, what strategy do mentally strong people apply to perform well even under pressure?
Rational Decision-Making Strategies
Of course, every problem overwhelms you at first. These conditions disrupt normal decision-making processes. However, your high-stakes decisions must be purely rational.
According to a study by Kahneman and Tversky, cognitive biases, such as loss aversion and framing effects, deviate a person from rational decision-making.
Strong people don’t respond to those stressful situations with reactive, immediate action. Instead, they stay calm before making the first decision. They follow a step-by-step process to gain a clear picture of the circumstances. After weighing the pros and cons, high performers confidently arrive at the best solution to the problem.
For example, coaches won’t rely only on their gut instincts to plan strategies in a split second. Instead, they break down complex game scenarios, such as player positioning and body language, to reduce mistakes and make more accurate decisions.
Thus, large problems can be overwhelming, but breaking them into smaller, manageable tasks will make any goal more achievable. So, be headstrong to make high-stakes decisions rationally.
That said, don’t let your cognitive biases take control of your thought process under stressful situations. If you do so, these biases can lead to suboptimal decisions.
Strategic Risk Assessment
Risk-taking doesn’t require recklessness or impulsivity. Instead, it needs careful evaluation of potential outcomes. Strong-minded people focus on what they can control right now. They prefer a systematic approach to risk assessment to identify possible pitfalls and rewards.
High-stakes decisions are like gambling; you make your next bet based on incomplete information and prediction. Panic whispers, “What if I fail?” while logic tries to calculate the best move.
A seasoned and skilled player thoroughly assesses a black chip poker review to understand the probabilities and gain the winning edge. Then, they make effective betting strategies by observing table dynamics, cards, pot size, and opponents’ body movements.
This risk assessment allows them to identify and manage high-stakes decisions that can impact their future outcomes. Similarly, your focus should be on the process, not the end goal, during every real-life problem.
Crisis Management
High-stakes situations usually also require crisis management. Some life decisions may go wrong no matter how much you plan and assess risks.
Don’t confuse crisis management with risk assessment. Crises test your ability to adapt during or after adverse events to develop alternative strategies when initial plans fail. Thus, they anticipate potential challenges, develop contingency plans, and make immediate decisions.
For instance, doctors and nurses often encounter life-or-death situations in emergency rooms. Their medical training and experiences prepare them to make split-second decisions to save lives. Thus, they can quickly evaluate a patient’s condition to find the best course of action or treatment.
In such crises, strong-minded people use stress as a motivational rather than a paralyzing factor.
Mental Resilience
Resilience isn’t about avoiding stress but adapting when things go sideways. J.K. Rowling faced rejection 12 times from publishers before Harry Potter’s mega success. Her secret? Viewing failure as feedback, not fate.
Adopt the same attitude to build mental resilience. The trick is to consider a negative outcome an opportunity to learn and grow. Instead of assuming, “This could ruin me,” think, “This is a chance to prove or improve my skills.”
Resilient people develop a growth mindset and learn to bounce back from failure. They learn from what didn’t work out as planned. It allows them to handle the ups and downs of high-stakes decision-making more efficiently.
So, be tenacious even if things go wrong to develop a similar level of resilience. Remember that everyone makes mistakes, and it’s okay not to be perfect.
Quick Tips to Find Your Inner Strength During a Crisis Situation
- Reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and actions from your past experiences.
- When under pressure, breathing tends to become shallow and rapid. Consciously taking a few deep breaths can help calm your nerves.
- Prevent emotional overwhelm by managing cognitive load.
- Interpret challenges as opportunities for growth.
- Don’t worry about past experiences or future outcomes. Instead, focus on what you can control right now when in trouble.
- Train your brain with small challenges like tight deadlines.
- Write down responses to hypothetical emergencies in a journal.
- Practice self-compassion during challenging times.
- Be kind to yourself when things don’t go as you planned.
FAQs
- What is cognitive bias?
Cognitive bias refers to systematic errors in thinking that lead to judgments based on personal experiences, emotions, or societal influences. Simply put, you’ll over- or underestimate how risky your decisions might be.
- How do mentally strong people assess risk?
Strong-minded people consider the potential quantitative and qualitative impact of risk to determine the correct measures for managing high-stakes situations.
- How do you make a rational decision?
To make rational decisions, compare various alternatives based on facts, research, and other data. Moreover, emotions are completely removed from the equation in high-stakes situations.
Bottom Line
High-stakes moments will always be there in life. You can’t avoid them but you can rewire how you respond to such unwanted situations. So, pause before reacting.
From pitching to a new client and facing a penalty kick to deciding to pivot careers, growth happens when you embrace uncertainty! People who take on challenges head-on as opportunities usually show lower anxiety levels and perform better. For them, it’s more than just surviving crises. They learn and grow to emerge stronger.
This psychological approach helps you with personal and collective development.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
