We love stories. From the moment we’re born, we’re surrounded by them – bedtime stories, fairy tales, movies, TV shows, and more. We’re all storytellers at heart. From the moment we’re able to communicate, we start crafting narratives to make sense of the world around us. Stories help us to remember important events, understand complex concepts, and navigate social interactions. They’re a fundamental part of human cognition.

But when it comes to decision making, relying on stories might not be the best approach.

Why Stories Can Lead to Bad Decisions

What happens when we let our love of stories interfere with our decision making? When we rely too heavily on anecdotes and personal experiences to guide our choices, we risk overlooking important facts, biases creeping in, and missing out on innovative solutions. Here are 7 reasons why thinking in stories may be hurting your decision making.

1. Stories often come neatly packaged. The storyteller, no matter how well-intentioned, naturally leaves out certain details. In the world of decision science, that’s called `attentional bias’.  In this context, attentional bias is what your friend or family member is paying attention to – what the storyteller thinks is most important to share. Unintentionally, the story leads to a kind of tunnel vision where decisions are seen as a fait accompli. You rarely get to see the process that the storyteller took or labored over in making their decision and you don’t know what they left out.  But there’s this niggling thing called reality which refuses to be tamed or packaged. Reality is, well…actually messy. Reality has a way of intruding upon your decisions. And reality always wins. 
2. Brains like to assume and extrapolate. Our brains naturally fill in gaps in stories with assumptions and extrapolations that may not be accurate. When you let a single story dictate your entire decision, you’re not considering the full range of possibilities, the evidence supporting different strategies, or how your own values and goals fit into the picture. You’re basically letting a single data point (for example, your friend’s loss or your family member’s regret) stand in for an entire category of information.
3. Emotional biases: Stories often evoke strong emotions, which can cloud our judgment and lead us to make decisions based strictly on feelings without any room for facts. We are all prone to emotional biases, which include loss aversion, status quo, and regret aversion, among others, and stories can evoke different emotional biases in different individuals.
4. Simplicity Over Complexity: Stories simplify complex issues into easily digestible narratives. While this can be helpful for understanding basic concepts, it often oversimplifies the reality of the situation. Decision making often requires nuanced analysis of multiple factors, which stories may not capture well.
5. Anchoring on the Familiar: Stories often revolve around relatable persons and situations. This can lead us to make decisions based on what’s familiar, even if it’s not the most logical or beneficial choice.
6. Lack of Objective Analysis: While stories can be engaging and persuasive, they often lack the objective, logical reasoning that’s crucial for sound decision making. Stories may omit or downplay important details, and they can be manipulated to paint a biased picture. To make good decisions, we need to analyze information critically and objectively.
7. Focus on the Dramatic: Stories often emphasize dramatic or inspiring events. There’s that attentional bias again. This can lead us to overfocus on high-stakes situations and under focus on more mundane but important decisions.

A Better Approach to Making More Optimal Decisions

So what can we do instead? How can we make decisions that are both informed and optimal? Here are 4 tips to help upgrade your decision-making skills:

• Seek Objective Information: Instead of relying solely on stories, seek out objective data and analysis when making decisions. Look at statistics, read research studies, and consult experts in the relevant field. This will give you a more balanced and unbiased view of the situation.At the same time, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Stories still have an important role to play. Use them to frame the problem, to help you empathize with different stakeholders, and to imagine possible futures. Just don’t let a single story become the entire narrative.
• Ask Critical Questions: When presented with a story or any other information, ask yourself critical questions like “What are the facts?”, “Are there any biases or emotional appeals?”, and “Whose input and perspectives have I collected?” “What information might I be missing and are there any alternatives I have yet  to consider?” Asking questions like these will help you think more analytically and avoid being swayed only by narratives.
• Consider the Long-Term Consequences: Don’t just focus on the immediate, dramatic events. Think about how your decisions will play out over time and in different contexts. What might seem like a good short-term choice could have negative long-term consequences. Weigh the costs and benefits in both the short and long term.
• Get Multiple Perspectives: Don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Talk to others, especially those with different backgrounds and viewpoints. They can provide valuable insights and help you see things from new angles. A diverse group of advisors can be a great safeguard against poor decision making.

If you know me, or read my writing regularly, you know that I love stories. In fact, I had to restrain myself from telling you a true story about a decision gone awry because of only paying attention to the narrative! So, please tell and enjoy hearing stories. And learn from them. Stories are a powerful tool for understanding and navigating the world. But when it comes to decision making, be mindful of the limitations of story-based thinking. We need to supplement our stories with data, to challenge our assumptions, and to be open to new possibilities. By doing so, we can all make more optimal decisions that are both grounded in reality and inspired by our imaginations.

Photo by Maegan Martin on Unsplash