The Daily Coach - Motivated Reasoning
Motivated ReasoningThere are times as leaders, friends, teammates and co-workers that we simply want something to be true, even if it isn’t.
Eleven years ago this month, American forces stormed a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing the most wanted man in the world: Osama Bin Laden. The movie recreating the raid has a wonderful scene featuring the CIA agent, Maya, who has been studying bin Laden since graduating high school. She tells her superior, Dan, the man they thought was dead is still actually alive.
There are times as leaders, friends, teammates and co-workers that we simply want something to be true, even if it isn’t. This is called motivated reasoning. Motivated reasoning is the theory that individuals who are personally or emotionally invested in a particular conclusion will find whatever evidence supports that conclusion while ignoring any evidence to the contrary. We do this because we are not motivated to search for and find evidence that proves us wrong. There are a few techniques in place that can help us from going down this path:
Maya had a bias to believe the person they were looking for was still alive. Understanding her motivation, she proved through her research and deductive reasoning that she had a strong enough case. Sure, she was motivated, which is a great thing, but she didn’t allow this incentive to prevent her from overlooking evidence. She instead used her motivation as the driving force and worked hard to prove her point wrong. When she didn’t, she went to Dan. Being motivated is a good thing — as long as we spend time reviewing the other side with an open mind. This One Move Will Make You A Financial Expert Take one glance at the headlines and it can feel pretty scary out there. “Inflation Soars to over 8.5%”...“Inverted Yield Curve Screaming Recession in 12 weeks.” Simply put, it’s exhausting keeping up with traditional financial media. Good News: we come bearing the gift of calm, collected insights without the fearmongering: The Daily Upside. Some call it the closest thing to getting your MBA up in Cambridge — we like to think of The Daily Upside as our big-brained sidekick to help navigate the world of business and investing. Please forward and share this email with your friends, family & colleagues. |
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