“Good decision making is not a trait of the person, in the sense that it’s always there,” says a social psychologist in the recent New York Times Magazine article on decision fatigue. “It’s a state that fluctuates.” I agree wholeheartedly. Writing Fire Monks, I reached a similar conclusion. But decisions are not just the product of one person’s exertion of willpower. They are a complex combination of individual will and everything else—all of the environmental, cultural, social, and yes, biological factors also at play. We can all make “good” decisions—thank goodness—but … [Read more...]