MASTERING HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE… A New Effective You. by Dr. Dave Siefkes. If you want to understand how people make decisions at the deepest level, you must understand identity. Identity is the story a person tells themselves about who they are. It is the internal image they carry. It shapes what they believe is possible, what they believe they deserve, what they believe they can accomplish, and what they believe they should avoid. Identity is powerful because the brain is always trying to stay consistent with it. People make decisions that match their identity. They reject decisions that challenge it. They choose the path that aligns with who they believe they are, even if the path limits them. A person who believes they are cautious will avoid opportunities that require bold action. A person who believes they are unlucky will dismiss good fortune when it arrives. A person who believes they are “not the type” for success will sabotage their own progress. A person who believes they are resourceful will find solutions others miss. A person who believes they are capable will take steps that intimidate everyone else. Identity decisions are not logical. They are not conscious. They are emotional and automatic. This is why someone can want a result badly and still hesitate. Their identity has not yet expanded to include the version of themselves who takes that step. Here is the truth most people never see. People do not fear the decision. They fear becoming someone different. Every choice carries a shift in identity. That shift can feel exciting or frightening. People say yes when the new identity feels empowering. They say no when the new identity feels too far from who they believe they are. You see this everywhere. An individual who has always struggled financially may hesitate to accept an opportunity that could elevate them. It is not the opportunity they fear. It is the unfamiliar version of themselves who succeeds. A person who has always been quiet may hesitate to speak up. It is not the words they fear. It is the identity shift that comes with being heard.

MASTERING HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE… A New Effective You. by Dr. Dave Siefkes. Every decision begins with emotion. You learned that in earlier chapters. But now we go deeper. There are specific emotional states that create movement. When these states are present, people lean in. They ask better questions. They picture themselves taking action. They imagine the benefits. They see themselves succeeding. Momentum starts. When these emotional states are missing, everything slows down. Logic has no power. Facts sit unused. Opportunities are ignored. Momentum stalls. To guide decisions ethically and effectively, you must understand the emotional triggers that activate desire and reduce resistance. There are five emotional triggers that matter more than any others. When these five show up, people move forward. When they are absent, people freeze. Let’s break them down. 1. Certainty People move when they feel sure. Certainty is not the same as logic. Certainty is emotional confidence. It is the feeling that the path ahead is solid. Certainty answers the internal question: “Do I believe this will work for me?” Certainty can come from: - Your confidence - Your clarity - A simple explanation - A relatable example - Predictability in the next steps - A trusted relationship When someone feels uncertain, they hesitate. When they feel certain, they take action. Certainty is one of the most powerful emotional triggers because the brain equates certainty with safety. 2. Trust Trust is the emotional foundation of every yes. People do not move forward with people they do not trust. Trust is built through communication, consistency, understanding, tone, presence, and honesty. Trust answers the internal question: “Do I believe you are guiding me, not pushing me?” There are three dimensions of trust: - Trust in you - Trust in themselves - Trust in the process All three matter. Trust in you opens the door. Trust in themselves lets them walk through it. Trust in the process makes them comfortable continuing.

MASTERING HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE. A New Effective You. by Dr. Dave Siefkes. Every decision a person makes is shaped by two invisible forces. The desire to gain something and the fear of losing something. One pulls them forward. One holds them back. And fear is almost always stronger. If you want to understand why people hesitate, why they avoid decisions, why they delay action, and why they talk themselves out of opportunities they clearly want, you must understand these two forces. They drive everything. People wrongly assume they are choosing between Option A and Option B. They aren’t. They are choosing between gain and loss. The emotional brain evaluates both. The logical brain just tells the story afterward. When a person considers a decision, three kinds of fear appear instantly. 1. Fear of Loss This is the strongest motivator in the human brain. People will work harder to avoid losing something than they will to gain something. The emotional brain is wired this way. Loss can mean money, time, safety, comfort, control, familiarity, or certainty. If an option threatens any of these, hesitation appears. This explains why someone can clearly want an opportunity but still feel anxious about moving forward. Their desire says yes. Their fear says slow down. They are not resisting you. They are protecting themselves. When you understand this, you stop taking resistance personally. You stop trying to pressure people. You start helping them feel safe. 2. Fear of Risk Risk is not mathematical. It is emotional. Two people can look at the same opportunity and interpret risk completely differently. One sees possibility. One sees danger. One sees growth. One sees exposure. One sees a path forward. One sees everything that could go wrong. Risk is tied to a person’s past experiences, their confidence level, their self-image, and their emotional history. When people say they need to “think about it,” they usually mean they still sense risk and cannot yet articulate why.

MASTERING HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE… A New Effective You. by Dr. Dave Siefkes. Every decision begins with a simple moment. A person is presented with an option. It might be a purchase. It might be a commitment. It might be a conversation, an opportunity, a risk, or a change. But the brain does not see the option the way you think it does. It does not begin with evaluation. It begins with interpretation. The human brain sorts every option into one of three categories. Safe. Unsafe. Unclear. And the category determines the path of the decision long before logic enters the scene. Most people never realize this. They present options assuming the brain will interpret them the same way they do. It doesn’t. You might see possibility. Someone else might see risk. You might see simplicity. Someone else might see overwhelm. You might see excitement. Someone else might see danger. The brain reacts before it reasons, which means the way an option feels determines how the option is processed. Here is the part that changes everything. People do not choose the best option. They choose the option that feels easiest to understand. Clarity creates momentum. Confusion kills it. The brain wants to simplify the world, not complicate it. If something feels simple, it feels safe. If something feels complex, it feels risky. It is not the option itself that matters. It is the amount of mental load required to understand it. This is why people often choose worse solutions over better ones. This is why someone will stay with a familiar problem rather than face an unfamiliar solution. This is why a simple explanation beats a brilliant presentation. This is why people say no even when the logic is perfect. This is why your offer, your idea, or your opportunity must be presented with absolute clarity. When the brain receives an option, it asks three immediate questions. These questions are fast, automatic, and emotional. 1. Do I understand what this is? If the answer is yes, the emotional brain relaxes. It feels grounded. It feels safe.

MASTERING HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE… A New Effective You. by Dr. Dave Siefkes. Every decision you make contains a conversation. Not with another person. With yourself. Two voices rise inside you, both trying to take control. One speaks with emotion. One speaks with logic. And the emotional voice always speaks first. People often believe they think through decisions in a clean, orderly way. They imagine themselves calmly weighing options. But what actually happens is a constant negotiation between two internal forces. One voice pulls you toward what feels right. The other tries to justify or resist that feeling. Understanding this internal battle is the key to understanding why people choose what they choose. The emotional voice is fast. It reacts instantly. It does not wait for information. It does not analyze. It does not compare. It feels. It senses. It protects. It remembers. It responds to patterns long before your logical mind even knows what is happening. This voice is ancient. It was designed for survival. It asks one question. Is this safe or unsafe? It makes snap judgments about people. About environments. About opportunities. About risks. About commitment. About trust. It triggers excitement or hesitation long before you have conscious awareness of why. The logical voice is slower. It wants reasons. It wants clarity. It wants to understand. It wants to organize the emotional reaction into something that makes sense. This voice does not create the decision. It explains the decision. It builds a rational structure around what has already been felt. This is why someone can say, “Something feels off, but I can’t explain it.” This is why people walk into a room and know instantly whether they want to stay or leave. This is why a person can hear a pitch, love what they hear, and then destroy their own momentum with overthinking. This is why buyers hesitate even after agreeing with everything you said. This is why people sabotage opportunities that could transform their lives.