In this episode we look at five lessons from the book 'Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Make Winning Decisions’ by Phil Rosenzweig. Rosenzweig challenges the assumption that the various biases and heuristics observed by behavioural economists such as Daniel Kahneman will automatically apply in all other arenas of life - and instead tries to demonstrate that the reality is more subtle. But Tess isn't fully convinced by some of Rosenzweig's arguments. What do you think?

Five lessons from two-time world debating champion Bo Seo's book 'Good Arguments'

In this interview, we chat with personal trainer, physical therapist, Iron Man competitor and all-round nice guy Dr Chris Boettcher about turning our health and fitness goals into results. As well as sharing some fitness hacks, Chris talks about his own life journey and his decision to leave his job as a physical therapist to pursue his passion project. Chris explains the trick of 'stacking bricks' to achieve big goals, and challenges us to 'never fail twice'. If you want to learn more, check out Chris's website - www.brother2brotheru.com

In this episode we chat with amazing percussionist, music teacher and author of the book 'How to Get Good', Tsoof Baras. We talk about how, having made the decision that we want to improve at something, we actually see that improvement manifested.You can listen to Tsoof's music, find out more about him and buy his book through his website www.tsoofbaras.comIf you're enjoying the show, make sure to subscribe and drop us a review on your favourite podcast player!Thanks!Ken & Tess

This is the final part of a mini-series of three episodes in which we chat with Australian neuroscientist Dr Mark Williams. Dr Mark highlights why we should never stop learning, a lesson we live and breathe here at How to Choose! There are no more excuses that we’re just too old to learn something new. Old brains aren't less plastic, any difference is due to inactivity, not ageing. And finally he explains why socialising is one of the best things we can do for our brain.Like to know more about Dr Mark? Visit Dr Mark's website - www.drmarkwilliams.com where you can pre-order his new book 'The Connected Species' . Keen to dig deeper? A study of 27,000 people found that the earlier kids get smartphones the worse their mental health as adults. Check out 'Memory' by Lisa Genova.Like what you're hearing? If so, we'd be most grateful if you could take two minutes and drop us a rating and review on your podcast player. Thanks!

This is part 2 of a mini-series of three episodes in which we chat with Australian neuroscientist Dr Mark Williams. Dr Mark explains how mirror neurons work, and how essential they are, scientists actually think this is how babies learn to talk! So when speaking to your baby, face them so they can see how your lips move.Every time we get distracted we 'task switch', there's really no such thing as multitasking. Every time you check a notification on your phone you lose time having to go back and refocus on your previous task. Even the ding is enough to get you to task switch, you don’t even have to check it! So turn off those notifications so you can stop being busy and start getting things done.Like to know more about Dr Mark? Visit Dr Mark's website - www.drmarkwilliams.com where you can pre-order his book 'The Connected Species'. And make sure you tune in for episode 3 of this fascinating discussionLike what you're hearing? If so, we'd be most grateful if you could take two minutes and drop us a rating and review on your podcast player. Thanks!

This is part 1 of our interview with neuroscientist Dr Mark Williams. Dr Mark shares his remarkable transformation from an angry student whose principal thought he'd end up dead or in prison to a professor of neuroscience. He takes us on a lightning tour of the parts of the brain involved in decision making and describes the remarkable way our brain presents us with an illusion of the world around us. Like to know more about Dr Mark? Visit Dr Mark's website - www.drmarkwilliams.com where you can pre-order his new book 'The Connected Species'. And make sure you tune in for episodes 2 and 3 of this fascinating discussionKeen to dig deeper? Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQIuLQG09o for a really nice, simple video, 20 minutes in length, that explains the body's fight-flight response. This introduces you to the roles of the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system/sympathetic nervous system, adrenal gland (and the hormones norepinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol) and the cortex with some nice diagrams.Like what you're hearing? If so, we'd be most grateful if you could take two minutes and drop us a rating and review on your podcast player. Thanks!

How to Choose -  SHOW NOTESwww.goodbetterright.com.auChristmas Decisions!Tessa Mudge & Ken Smith INTROBuying gifts for our loved ones can be a meaningful and gratifying experience.It can also generate unwanted stress and financial pressure.In this special Christmas episode, we offer a few suggestions to help you navigate the 'gift buying' season.KEY TAKEAWAYSDon't fixate on finding the perfect gift - perfectionism exacerbates your stress and sets everyone up for disappointmentEstablish parameters - price limits, themes etc. can help reduce financial pressure at ChristmasFind out what they valueUnderstand their goalsThe thought really does count!Treasure the intangibles - friends, family, faith - think about what you value and focus on that. LINKSTo be in with a chance to win one of two copies of Julia Galef's excellent book The Scout Mindset, just fill out a short survey about our show. Here's the link: https://us20.list-manage.com/survey?u=a66c7aad9b1103029408dfb48&id=6efe250f51&attribution=falseGalef says of her book: "The Scout Mindset is about how, concretely, to keep from fooling yourself. Throughout the book, I lead the reader through key techniques for becoming aware of your own rationalisations, making more accurate predictions, learning from disagreements, and noticing what you’re wrong about."WHAT TO DO?We'll be back in February with season 3 - don't miss it!

Introducing 'How to Choose' - a show that aims to help you make better decisions!