We like to think of ourselves as rational beings. We weigh the pros and cons, consider the future, and make a logical choice. At least, that’s the story we tell ourselves.
In reality, your nervous system often makes the decision before your conscious mind even gets a vote. If you’ve ever found yourself saying “yes” to a commitment you knew you’d regret, or reaching for a distraction when you meant to focus, you’ve experienced your nervous system taking the wheel.
The “Bottom-Up” Decision Process
Most of our behaviour is driven “bottom-up.” This means signals travel from the body and the brainstem (the survival centers) up to the prefrontal cortex (the thinking center).
If your nervous system is in a state of high arousal (fight or flight) or low-energy collapse (freeze), your brain prioritises immediate safety over long-term goals.
- In “Fight/Flight”: You make impulsive decisions, act out of irritability, or over-commit because your system is seeking a quick sense of control.
- In “Freeze”: You procrastinate, “numb out” with scrolling, or feel unable to make any decision at all.
Beyond “Mind Over Matter”
This is why traditional coaching or “positive thinking” often fails. You can’t think your way out of a physiological state. If your body feels unsafe or overwhelmed, no amount of “logic” will make a difficult task feel easy.
Understanding this changes the game. Instead of asking, “Why am I so indecisive?” you start asking, “What state is my nervous system in right now?”
Shifting the State to Shift the Choice
To make better decisions, you don’t need more information; you need a more regulated state.
- Check Your “Baseline”: Are you deciding while caffeinated, exhausted, or stressed? Your “rational” choice in that moment is being filtered through a lens of survival.
- Biological Grounding: Simple physiological shifts—like changing your breathing or your physical environment—can “signal” to the brain that the threat is gone. This brings the prefrontal cortex back online.
- Use Supportive Tools: For those of us with sensitive systems, using external tools to dampen the noise can be a lifesaver. (We cover some of these in [Article 11: Simple Tools That Help Calm Your Nervous System During Work]).
The Takeaway
Your decisions are only as good as the state of your nervous system. When you learn to listen to the “body-talk” behind your choices, you stop fighting against your biology and start working with it.