Most people make poor decisions because they are trapped by emotions and view the world in simple binaries. A better approach is to map a situation's full complexity, understand its trade-offs, and recognize where others are getting stuck in their feelings, thus avoiding those same traps.

While studying cognitive biases (like Charlie Munger advises) is useful, it's hard to apply in real-time. A more practical method for better decision-making is to use a Socratic approach: ask yourself simple, probing questions about your reasoning, assumptions, and expected outcomes.

Overcome the fear of big life decisions by making them reversible. First, identify the worst-case scenario and create a pre-planned safety net (e.g., saving enough for a flight home). Once the downside is protected, you can commit to the action with significantly less fear and more focus.

When feeling attacked, zoom out. Affirming core values, considering the issue from a future perspective, or imagining a wise role model's response creates psychological distance. This detaches your self-worth from the specific criticism, allowing you to engage with it more openly.

People stay in bad situations by numbing themselves to current pain. To break free, vividly imagine the future: how much worse will this pain be in one, five, or ten years? Contrasting this amplified suffering with the feeling of freedom makes the choice to leave clear.

When facing a conflict, identify similar past situations. With detached hindsight, list the best/worst actions you could have taken. Then, mentally apply that 'future' advice to your current problem, leveraging the clarity that emotional distance provides.

To gain clarity on a major decision, analyze the potential *bad* outcomes that could result from getting what you want. This counterintuitive exercise reveals hidden motivations and clarifies whether you truly desire the goal, leading to more robust choices.

People exhibit "Solomon's paradox": they are wiser when solving others' problems than their own. To overcome this, view your challenges through a third-person lens. Mentally frame the issue as if you were advising a friend—or even refer to yourself by name—to gain dispassionate clarity.

To fight overconfidence before a big decision, conduct a "premortem." Imagine the investment has already failed spectacularly and work backward to list all the plausible reasons for its failure. This exercise forces engagement of your analytical "System 2" brain, revealing risks your optimistic side would ignore.