Decisions, decisions: How HALT can help you avoid trouble!

Here's a brilliant little mnemonic to help anyone avoid making decisions in extreme emotional states:

HALT!

(HALT is German for "STOP".)

It stands for:

H = Hungry

(An empty stomach can cause you to buy much more at the supermarket.)

A = Angry

(Emails written in an angry state are rarely the best.

Cool down, then edit or just leave it)

L = Lonely

(People will do a lot for company. Con artists know this.)

T = Tired

(Tiredness amplifies our extremes. Autopilot and biases rule us.)

I also found that, aside from anger, any extreme emotional state can sway our decision-making. This means, even in extreme happiness, it may be a good idea to hold off making an important financial decision.

So here are a few tips and steps:

1. Observe, endure, or enjoy the extreme emotion, while you are in it, but do NOT allow yourself to make a sizable decision while you are still in that state. Wait until your prefrontal cortex is back in control.

2. Delay decisions by default. The more significant the decision, the longer we all should wait. For example, wait one hour before sending an 'angry' email, and one day before buying a costly gadget.

3. The rule: For anything significant, sleep on it!

The good news is that emotional self-awareness and self-regulation can be learned and mastered. If you're curious to learn how to apply this as a leader and as part of coaching others, let me know! Maintaining such presence is a core skill of a coach-like leader.

All the best, and have a great, emotionally controlled week ahead!