Using critical thinking to make better decisions, with Annie McCubbin

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with corporate development and communication consultant Annie McCubbin. Annie’s work centres on exploring the intersections of critical thinking, and decision-making, and their role in protecting our lives from unnecessary conflict and self-sabotage.

Annie sheds light on the fascinating ways our minds work and how narratives can often outweigh facts. We delve into topics like confirmation bias, illusion of transparency, and spotlight effect—common pitfalls in decision-making. The episode also addresses why even seemingly 'smart women' fall for wellness trends and MLMs (multi-level marketing schemes).

This conversation was an eye-opening journey into understanding the complexities of human thought processes and the importance of critical thinking in our (mis)information-rich and marketing-driven world. 

Annie has also written two fantastic books; "Why Smart Women Make Bad Decisions" and "Why Smart Women Buy the Lies." You can find links on where to buy them below.

Episode highlights:

• The importance of critical thinking and the need to question our own thought processes, so we can be aware of biases.
• Brush up on some psychological lingo, like the spotlight effect and illusion of transparency. These concepts highlight how people tend to overestimate how much others notice or care about their behaviour or emotions.
• How external factors shape opportunities, and the importance of not only acknowledging privilege, but also plain ol’ luck!

We make most of our decisions in the limbic system part of our brains, and then we post rationalise them. So intelligence and high intelligence is absolutely no protection against being vulnerable to being lied to, scammed, tricked, duped any of it.
Annie [08:11]

The reason I put women in the title [of my books] is that I think that women are very much given the message that their intuition is king or queen and that whatever they're intuitively feeling must be right, because somehow it's some repository of deep spiritual truth. And I categorically disagree with that.
Annie [08:35]

Narratives have much more impact on the brain than facts. We grow up with stories. It's how we calibrate the world. How we understand things is through stories.
Annie [15:37]

Where to find Annie McCubbin

Website: https://anniemccubbin.com/ 

Buy Annie’s book through her website for a signed copy: https://coup.college/product/why-smart-women-make-bad-decisions/ & https://coup.college/product/why-smart-women-buy-the-lies/

Where to find The Broke Generation

Website: https://thebrokegeneration.com/?v=518f4a738816

Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.brokegeneration

TikTok: @the.brokegeneration 

Sign up to The Glue: the weekly money psychology and mindset newsletter www.thebrokegeneration.com/subscribe, where you’ll also get your free Financial Values workbook.

Beyond the Self, by Africa Brooke is a podcast mentioned during the show: https://africabrooke.com/podcast

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