Give Me 23 Minutes and Never Struggle With a Decision Again

Stop waiting till you're perfect. Just. start. Stop waiting to feel certain. Progress builds confidence. Stop waiting. till you feel ready. Confidence comes. after, not before. Stop waiting till they approve. Most. people are too scared to even try. Stop waiting for it to be easy. What transforms you rarely is. The. number one health and wellness podcast.

Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the. only Jay Shetty. Hey everyone, it's Jay Shetty. Welcome. back to On Purpose. If you haven't. already, make sure you subscribe. It. makes a huge difference to us, and it. makes sure you never miss an episode. If. you want to build a mindset that is. prepared for the challenges that come up. in the world we live in. If you want to. make sure that you have the habits to.

transform your life. If you want to make. sure that you have the inner world going. in the same direction as your outer. world, this is the place to be. Now, how many of you overthink? How many of you procrastinate? And how many of you keep going round and. round in circles with the same thoughts? If you said yes to any of those, this. episode is for you. It's all about.

creating a clear mind and how to make. better decisions, how to choose smarter, and how to live freer. I think all of us. are struggling in our lives with. overthinking. We're overwhelmed with the. amount of information. We're overwhelmed. with the amount of choice. We're. inundated with insight data. We're being. sold to. Our attention is being formed. Right? People are literally trying to.

grab hold of our attention, whether. we're on the street, on the phone, wherever we are. And so, making better. decisions has become harder. This. episode is going to help you make. decisions quicker, smarter, and better, and help you waste less time. procrastinating, overthinking, and. wasting time on decisions that maybe. don't make a difference. Let's dive in. Step one is catch the noise. You don't have a clarity problem. You.

have a clutter problem. Before we decide, we ruminate. We. spiral, we crowd source, we overthink. But, Stanford research shows that. excessive deliberation reduces decision. quality by up to 25%. due to something known as decision. fatigue. Now, what is decision fatigue, you might be wondering? Decision fatigue is the mental and.

emotional strain resulting from making. too many decisions, especially in a row. The more choices you make, the worse. your decision-making becomes. This is because every decision, big or. small, draws from a limited pool of. mental energy. This is a concept backed. by ego depletion theory. Once that pool is drained, your brain. defaults to either avoidance, doing.

nothing, I'm sure you can relate, or. impulse, choosing the easiest or most. familiar option. Now, think about that. for a second. How often do you make so. many decisions from the moment you wake. up? You're thinking about what to wear, what to eat, what you're going to do. tonight, what you're going to watch, all. the different tasks you have to get. through today, packing the kids' lunch. Right? You've got a million tasks, a. million things to think about. By the. end of the day, what happens? You just want to do nothing. Right, you.

want to get nothing done. All what happens is you start making. impulsive decisions that you regret. later. In one study, participants who. were forced to make many small. decisions, like choosing products, designs, or preferences, later performed. significantly worse on tasks requiring. self-control. Now, that's what I love about this. topic. It affects all parts of your. life. You're thinking the issue is you. don't have willpower.

You're thinking the issue is you don't. have self-control. The truth is, when. you've become exhausted from making lots. of small decisions, you lose that power. It's a decision-making problem. It's not. a drive or will problem. What this study. shows is that over-deliberation isn't. just mentally exhausting, it actively. reduces your ability to think clearly, increasing the chance to default to.

what's familiar. That's actually one of. the reason people like Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg all. minimize daily micro-decisions, wearing. the same clothes to preserve cognitive. energy for the bigger decisions. They've even found in studies that. judges in courts were found to give more. favorable rulings early in the day. After many cases, after seeing many. people, they actually struggled to give.

favorable rulings. Now, how does this. affect you? Every should I adds up. Every let me. think one more time drains fuel. So, when you deliberate excessively, you. think you're being thorough, but you're. actually weakening your judgment. That's. why your best decision isn't always the. most analyzed. It's the one made with a. clear rested mind. It's why we say.

things like, "Let me sleep on it.". because that clarity, that rest helps. you make a better decision. Now, here's. an action tip. Protect decision-making. energy by making big decisions early in. the day. A lot of us start by making our. small decisions as opposed to focusing. on the big ones. When you waste a lot of. energy on all the small decisions, you. run out of energy by the time it comes. to your top priorities. So, batch the. small decisions. Meals, clothes, routes.

to take, do it the night before. Do it a. week in advance. Also, use pre-made. criteria. If X, then I always do Y. Stop. overthinking things that won't matter in. 5 years. Stop overthinking replies to people who. wouldn't notice if you disappeared. Stop overthinking how you look to people. who don't look out for you.

Stop overthinking your path just because. it doesn't look like theirs. Stop overthinking the past when your. future is trying to get your focus. Stop overthinking all of these other. small, insignificant decisions that. don't impact the quality of your life. Step two, label the type of decision. Not all decisions deserve the same. energy. That's a quote from Jeff Bezos.

And here I want to introduce you to. what's known as type one versus type two. framework for decision-making. Type one is if a decision is. irreversible and high stakes, think deeply. A type two decision is something that's. reversible and low stakes, decide fast. Let me say that again. If something is. irreversible and high stakes, think.

deeply. If something is reversible and. low stakes, decide faster. Most people treat every decision in life. like life or death. That's how they get paralyzed. Right? Most of us think this decision will. define my entire life. When in reality, you can apply for a new job. You can. quit this job. You can look for other. work. You will find another manager.

These are all options, but our mind. makes us feel like there are only two. Either survive or die. And as soon as. your brain puts that pressure onto you, what happens? You get paralyzed. You. stop having the ability to make a. healthier decision. Knowing that there. are always more than two options. For. example, let's say you're not enjoying. your work. Let's say you're not doing something. you're passionate about.

In your head, you think there are two. options. I either stay here and hate it. or I leave and I fail. You don't think about the third option. Maybe I should build a new skill. Maybe I should update my LinkedIn. profile. Maybe I should update my. resume. Maybe I should start a side hustle. These are all opportunities and options. that we don't even consider because we. think there are only two options. When. we realize that most things are. reversible and most things are not that.

high stakes, we actually expand our. world view. Here's a mini action for you. Ask. yourself, if I choose wrong, can I. recover? If yes, then act. If no, then. investigate further. Most people treat type two decisions. like type one decisions. Decisions that. are reversible and low stakes, we treat. them as irreversible and high stakes.

When we treat type one decisions like. type two decisions, it's a disaster. Right, choosing who to marry is a type. one decision. It's high stakes, and even. though it is reversible, it's something. that's challenging to reverse. So, it. becomes a disaster if we act fast and we. don't think about it. And I've already. talked about how we do the opposite. Spend more time on the few choices that. matter and stop wasting brainpower on.

what doesn't. I also want to share with you something. that I really came across when I was at. university. I realized you needed 70% to. get a first-class degree. 70%. So, that. means someone who got 70% and someone. who got 99% ended up with the same grade. of getting a first-class. 60 to 70 in. England was a 2:1. 50 to 60 was a 2:2. And anything below that was a three. And.

so, when you think about that, a lot of. us are trying to be at 99 when all we. need to do is be at 70. Now, Jeff Bezos. also shares this. Most decisions should. probably made with around 70% of the. information you wish you had. If you. wait for 90% in most cases, you're. probably being slow. This is a really important thing to. remember because in the process of. wanting to be 90% perfect, we end up not.

even starting. And this ties into satisficing, a. concept in decision theory that says. good enough is often better than. perfect. Because perfection is a trap, and speed creates momentum. I want to give you a real-life example. This is a real Amazon example. In. Amazon's early days, choosing where to. place new fulfillment centers was a type. two decision. If a location.

underperformed, they'd shut it down or. reallocate it. But building Amazon Web. Services, that's a type one decision. This required full commitment and. long-term thinking. Bezos taught his team, "Be nimble with. reversibles. Be deliberate with. irreversibles.". Here's the practical application for. you. Ask these three questions. If I get it. wrong, is the damage small.

or permanent? Can I test this on a small scale before. going all in? And here's a bonus thought. The enemy of. speed is not caution, it's confusion. This Bezos framework isn't just about. fast versus slow. It's about clarity. Knowing what kind of decision you're. making is the first decision you should. make. Stop waiting till you're perfect. Just start.

Stop waiting to feel certain. Progress builds confidence. Stop waiting till you feel ready. Confidence comes after, not before. Stop waiting till they approve. Most people are too scared to even try. Stop waiting till you have more time. You make time for what matters. Stop waiting for it to be easy. What transforms you rarely is. Step.

three, feel first, then think. Now, it might. sound counterintuitive, but stick with. me. One of my favorite quotes is from. Antonio Damasio. He said, "We make our. decisions emotionally, then justify them logically." This idea. from Antonio Damasio is one of the most. powerful and under-acknowledged truths. about how we actually make decisions. Let's break it down.

Now, Dr. Antonio Damasio is a renowned. neuroscientist. His most influential. work centers on how emotion is essential. for rational decision-making, a direct. challenge to the old-school belief that. logic alone leads to better choices. His. groundbreaking book, Descartes' Error, reshaped modern neuroscience by proving. we are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think.

Now, here's the science. Damasio studied. patients with damage to the ventromedial. prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain. that connects emotional processing with. rational thinking. These patients had normal IQ. They could. reason and analyze logically, but couldn't make basic decisions, even. about where to eat, what to wear, or. which pen to use. They were emotionally.

numb as a result. Their decision-making. broke down completely. His conclusion, without emotion, logic. stalls. Emotion isn't noise, it's navigation. Here's what this really. means in real life. You feel something. first, desire, fear, excitement, guilt. Then your brain builds a logical story. to support or justify that feeling. Example, you feel anxious about leaving.

your job. So you build a logical case like the. market's unstable or this isn't the. right time. But deep down your hesitation might be. emotional. Fear of failure, fear of. judgement, fear of losing identity. The logic is the cover. The emotion is the compass. Feel first, then think clearly.

If you skip the emotional layer, your. logic becomes reactive, not intentional. So here's how to use this insight. This. is a three-step emotion check-in before. big decisions. Name the dominant emotion. you're feeling. Is it excitement, fear, shame, pressure, envy? And then ask, is this emotion. trustworthy. or distorted by past wounds?

Then engage logic. Now you're making. decisions from wholeness, not habit. So. to me, asking that question, what. emotion is driving this decision, and. naming it, fear, guilt, love, ego, then asking, is that emotion trustworthy. right now, will save you so much. I'll. give an example. If someone hurts me and. I'm thinking about hurting them back, if. I ask myself, where's that coming from?

It's coming from revenge. Is that. trustworthy right now as an emotion? Probably not. So how I want to behave. and how I want to act may be something I. regret. Don't ignore your intuition. Stop mistrusting your first reaction. because it's often your deepest wisdom. Stop calling it overthinking. when it's actually your soul saying no.

Stop asking for clarity from others when. your nervous system already gave you an. answer. Stop pretending you don't know. when you've known all along. Step four, play the 10 10 10 game. Most regrets aren't from what we choose, but from not zooming out. That's from. Suzy Welch's 10 10 10 rule. Ask yourself how will I feel about this.

in 10 minutes? How will I feel about this. in 10 months? How will I feel about this in 10 years? This activates the dorsolateral. prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain. responsible for long-term thinking. Basically reducing impulsive errors. Here's a mini action. Voice record. yourself answering those three. questions. Don't write, speak. Speaking. activates deeper truth.

It's a great way of asking yourself, am. I wasting time? Am I focusing on the. wrong thing? Am I overreacting to this. situation? Will this matter in 10 minutes? Will. this matter in 10 months? Will this matter in 10 years? Step five, create a regret simulation. There's a famous quote that says, "Fear. of future regret warps present choices.". We wrongly fear regret before we decide.

But Harvard research shows that. predicted regret is often exaggerated. Regret feels real, but it's a. simulation. We have to use it. deliberately, not reactively. Imagine both paths. Ask yourself, if I choose this and it. fails, will I respect who I become anyway? What a great question. If I choose this.

and it fails, will I respect. who I became anyway? That's your real North Star, your. integrity, not your outcome. Stop aiming for a perfect life. Aim for a life you're proud to remember. Stop holding back just to stay safe. Safety won't comfort you at 80. Stop letting fear make your decisions.

It's not the one who has to live with. them. Stop asking, "What if it goes wrong?". Ask, "What if I never tried?" Stop. replaying the past and use that energy. to create a better now. Step number six, ask the three identity. questions. Don't ask what's smart, ask what's in. alignment. Western psychology says we should. maximize pleasure or avoid pain.

But Vedic wisdom teaches that the right. action is the one aligned with your. deeper purpose. So, ask, "What kind of person do I want. to become? Which decision reflects that version of. me? What am I willing to lose to protect. that?". And you can write down your future self. in three bullet points. and make your choices then,

not as the current you. Deciding who you become is the most. important decision you'll ever make. But. most of us decide what we want. We. decide what we desire. We don't decide. who we dream to be. We don't desire what. skills, what behaviors we wish to have, only results we want to see. I hope this is your reminder that. whether you have the dream job or not,

whether you have the dream life or not, that you're becoming the person you want. to be. that is ready to receive what you. deserve. Step number seven, decide then. move. The famous wisdom said, "No decision is. a decision." The brain's anterior. cingulate cortex hates uncertainty. That's why indecision feels like. anxiety. Action reduces anxiety, not certainty.

Once you choose, do something physical. within 5 minutes. Call the person. Send the email. Book that ticket. Cancel that plan. Remember, action conquers anxiety. Not. staying the same, not overthinking, not. figuring it all out, actually moving. forward. I hope these seven steps help. you towards making better decisions in. your life, overcoming overthinking, and.

overcoming procrastination. And I'll see. you here on another episode of On. Purpose. Make sure you tag me on TikTok, on Instagram, wherever you share all of. the insights that you're gaining. And. remember, I'm forever in your corner, and I'm always rooting for you. If you. love this episode, you'll love my. conversation with Dr. Joe Dispenza on. why stress and overthinking negatively. impacts your brain and heart, and how to. change your habits that are on. autopilot. Listen to it right now. How.

many times do we have to forget until we. stop forgetting and start remembering? That's the moment of change. Who cares. how many times you fell off the bicycle. if you ride the bicycle now? You ride. the bike.