How To Make Better Decisions
Over the past of coaching high performers, one theme keeps popping up:
the quality of your decisions shapes the quality of your life.
Yet most of us are drowning in options and exhausted by the smallest choices.
When I think about decision-making, an old video game always comes to mind: Mortal Kombat. Each fighter has a visible “life bar” that shrank with every hit. Decision-making works in a similar way. Instead of “life,” your bar represents daily mental energy and every choice you’re forced to make chips away at it. By the end of the day, even trivial decisions (“what should I eat for dinner?”) can feel like battling the final boss in the video game.
Below I’ll break down some research and give you a few simple ways to protect your “life bar” and make better choices.
1. Choice Overload // When More Is Less
Research shows that while some choice is empowering, too much choice leads to decision paralysis and lower satisfaction. In a famous study, shoppers presented with 24 jam flavors were less likely to buy and less satisfied than those offered only six.
Takeaway: Treat your cognitive energy as limited. Reduce unnecessary options (apps, outfits, subscriptions, meetings) to budget your “life bar” appropriately.
2. Expectations & the Hedonic Treadmill
More options raise our expectations. We start believing we should find the perfect job, partner, or vacation. Psychologists call this the hedonic treadmill, quickly adapting to new circumstances but with ever-higher expectations.
Takeaway: Notice when “I need the best” creeps in. Reframe to “I need what works” for this stage of life and current decision. This simple shift keeps your satisfaction stable and risk of negative overwhelm, low.
3. Maximizers vs. Satisficers
Barry Schwartz’s work shows two broad decision styles:
Maximizers want the best possible option and review every choice exhaustively.
Satisficers look for an option that meets their standards and stop searching once they find it.
In environments with endless options, maximizers report more regret and less happiness; satisficers feel more satisfied and free.
Takeaway: Identify your default style. If you’re a maximizer, experiment with satisficing: set clear criteria in advance, choose the first option that meets them, and move on.
(note, for bigger decisions maximizing can be useful)
Quick Practices to Conserve Your “Life Bar”
Pre-decide the trivial stuff (weekly meals, workout template, morning routine).
Limit your menu of options (3 venues to consider, not 20).
Make decisions at one time of day when your mental energy is highest.
Use criteria lists, not endless comparisons.
Practice “good enough” on one low-stakes choice today.
Resources to Go Deeper
Barry Schwartz — The Paradox of Choice (why more is less)
Daniel Robson — The Expectation Effect (how mindset shapes outcomes)
Susan Iyengar & Mark Lepper’s jam study (choice overload)
Think of your attention like a Mortal Kombat life bar. Every unnecessary micro-decision chips away at your capacity for the decisions that really matter.
Trim the trivial, practice “good enough,” and you’ll find yourself deciding faster, feeling lighter, and actually enjoying your choices.
If you’d like 1:1 support applying these ideas in your life or business, I would love to chat with you
With heart,
Mike
