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I talk all the time about how confidence is a choice- it’s the even the title of one of my books - so when someone comes along and says, “Okay, Alyssa, but are you sure it’s YOU whose actually the making the choice?” you better believe I'm listening.
Enter Paula Houlihan, fellow neuro nerd, executive coach and someone who has spent years studying what happens to our decision-making when the pressure is on. Paula was a high-performing corporate professional who thought exhaustion, stress and pushing through were simply part of being successful. Then a life-altering diagnosis forced her to take a very hard look at the choices that had gotten her there, including the ones she hadn't realized she was making.
That last part got me. Because we walk around thinking we're being perfectly rational and intentional while our brains are busy reaching for whatever worked before. That's wonderfully efficient when the old programming still serves us. It’s when it doesn’t that things get tricky.
And high performers can create the perfect conditions for that old programming to take over. We take on more because we can. We put enormous pressure on ourselves. Then, when we need more time, we start stealing it from things like sleep and taking care of ourselves, which are precisely the things our brains need to make better decisions.
Paula and I get delightfully nerdy about what's happening in the brain when pressure starts calling the shots, how to recognize when you've slipped into reactive mode and what it takes to get yourself back into the driver's seat. If you've ever made a decision and later thought, Why the hell did I do that?, listen in. This conversation may make you question just how many of your choices are really choices.
A few things you'll want to listen for:
- Why high performers can be especially vulnerable to autopilot thinking
- How to spot the moment your brain may be making the decision before you do
- Why a strategy that helped you succeed before can quietly start working against you
- The clue hiding inside those “if only they would…” moments
- Paula's deceptively small interruption that can change what happens next
Paula Houlihan is a keynote speaker, executive coach and creator of the Choice Management™ Model, which draws on neuroscience, psychology and her own corporate experience to help people make more intentional choices under pressure. A former corporate senior claims specialist with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Paula now works with leaders and organizations to rethink the habits that drive performance, burnout and change. Learn more about Paula and her work.
