Why Your Decisions Keep Failing (And the 4-Move Process to Fix Them)

Have you ever made the same type of mistake multiple times?

Maybe it’s in your career. You keep choosing jobs that look perfect on paper but leave you feeling miserable and burnt out six months in.

Maybe it’s your health. You start a new fitness plan with 100% commitment, and by week three, the entire routine has collapsed.

Or perhaps it’s learning. You buy the courses, start the projects, but find yourself stuck in a loop of starting and never finishing.

If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably diagnosed the problem as a lack of motivation, discipline, or willpower.

But what if that diagnosis is wrong?

What if the real problem isn't your character, but your process? What if you’re simply using the wrong thinking system to make decisions?

This is the core idea behind systematic thinking. It’s a trainable, repeatable method for making better decisions. It’s not just theory; it’s a practical framework you can apply today to change how you approach every major decision in your life.

The Pattern: Why We Get Stuck in the Same Loops

Here’s a pattern I see everywhere. A person faces a significant decision—for instance, "Should I change careers?"

They begin a familiar process: they think about it, research options, ask friends for advice, and probably create a few pros-and-cons lists.

And then, they fall into one of three traps:

1. They pick the first option that feels plausible.
2. They copy the path that worked for someone else.
3. They get paralyzed by the options and do nothing at all.

Does this sound familiar? The real kicker isn't the single bad outcome. It's that six months later, they find themselves stuck again, facing a different decision but feeling the exact same paralysis.

The problem isn't the specific choice. The problem is how they're thinking about choices.

Most people don't have a systematic way to think. They just... think. And hope it works out. But thinking is a skill, and like any skill, there are better and worse ways to do it. To get consistently better outcomes, you need a thinking system.

Three Common Approaches (And Why They Fail)

Before we explore a better system, let's identify the three flawed approaches that most people default to. These seem logical, but they consistently fail to deliver clarity.

Approach #1: The Research Trap

This approach is driven by the belief: "If I just gather enough information, the right answer will become obvious."

So, you research. And research. And then you research some more. You spend hours reading articles, comparing stats, and analyzing data.

But more information rarely leads to clarity. It leads to overwhelm. You end up with 47 open browser tabs, three complex comparison spreadsheets, and less certainty than when you started.

Why it fails: You’ve mistaken information for insight. Gathering data is useless if you don't have a process for thinking about that data. Information isn't the problem; your lack of a thinking process is.

Approach #2: The "Best Practices" Illusion

This approach is based on copying success: "I'll just do what successful people do."

You read a biography or a blog post and decide to copy someone else's morning routine, their productivity system, or their exact career path. It seems like a smart shortcut.

But what works for them doesn't work for you.

Why it fails: You are trying to run someone else's operating system on your hardware. "Best practices" ignore the most critical variable: context. That person has different strengths, different constraints, different goals, and a different starting point. Copying their solution without understanding your own context is a recipe for failure.

Approach #3: The Gut Feeling Gamble

This is the "I'll just go with my intuition" approach.

Sometimes, this works! Our intuition can be a powerful tool. But other times, that same gut feeling leads you straight into the same mistake you made last time.

Why it fails: Intuition is simply high-speed pattern recognition. Your "gut" is recognizing patterns from your past experiences. But if your past experiences are built on flawed thinking, your intuition will be systematically biased. It will feel right while leading you in the wrong direction, reinforcing the very patterns you’re trying to break.

The Systematic Solution: Your Four Moves

If endless research, copying others, and gut feelings don't work, what does?

You need a thinking system—a repeatable process you can apply to any decision, whether it's in your career, your health, or your relationships.

This system is built on four core moves. Think of them like moves in chess. Each one is simple on its own, but when you combine them, you can navigate complex and high-stakes situations with confidence.

Move #1: Parallel Tracks

Instead of committing to your first idea, you develop multiple options simultaneously.

The keyword is simultaneously. Most people evaluate options in sequence: they get an idea, explore it, and if it doesn't work, they move on to the next one. The problem is that our first idea gets a "head start" and benefits from commitment bias. Every other option is then unfairly compared to it.

Parallel Tracks thinking corrects this. You give each option equal time and attention from the beginning. This allows you to choose based on merit, not timing.

Example: Instead of getting stuck in the binary choice of "stay in my current job" or "quit my job," you would generate and explore four distinct tracks in parallel:

• Track 1: Stay in my current role but optimize it (e.g., renegotiate responsibilities, set new boundaries).
• Track 2: Seek an internal transfer to a different team or department.
• Track 3: Find a new job in the same industry.
• Track 4: Execute a full career pivot into a new field.

By developing all four tracks, you'll discover a much better solution than the simple "stay or go" trap.

Move #2: Pattern Extraction

Instead of treating every situation as unique, you extract patterns from your past successes and apply them to new situations.

Most people reinvent the wheel every time they face a challenge. Systematic thinkers build a pattern library. They look at their past wins—big or small—and ask, "What really worked here? What was the underlying process?"

Example: You realize that every time you've successfully built a new habit (like fitness), you unconsciously did three things:

1. You attached the new habit to an existing routine (e.g., working out right after your morning coffee).
2. You made it ridiculously easy to start (e.g., "just put on your running shoes").
3. You had some form of external accountability (e.g., a workout buddy or a coach).

Now you have a pattern. This 3-part framework is your personal "Habit Change Pattern." You can now apply it to any new habit you want to build—learning a language, writing, or meditating—instead of figuring it out from scratch every time.

Move #3: Forward Time Travel

Instead of choosing based on how an option feels now, you project yourself forward in time.

The question isn't "What do I want today?" The better question is, "Which of these options will I be glad I chose in three months, three years, or even three decades?"

This move is how you overcome the pull of short-term urgency and immediate gratification. It forces you to choose the option that compounds over time, even if it's harder in the short term.

Example: You're deciding between two job offers.

• Option A: Offers a high salary and high status right now, but the work is unfulfilling and the hours are grueling.
• Option B: Offers a lower starting salary but involves building a rare, valuable skill and working with a mentor you admire.

Forward Time Travel asks: Which option creates the future you actually want? Option A gives you an immediate win. Option B builds a foundation for a much better future. This move gives you the clarity to choose B.

Move #4: Backward Time Travel

Instead of solving problems at the surface level, you trace them back to their root cause.

Most people treat symptoms. When a problem recurs, they blame the most recent, visible failure point. Systematic thinkers ask why the problem happened in the first place, and then ask "why" again, tracing the chain of cause and effect backward.

Example: Your fitness plan keeps failing. Most people think, "I just need more discipline." This is treating a symptom.

Backward Time Travel asks: Why does it keep failing? Not just this time—why five times in a row?

• "It fails in week three."
• Why? "Because I miss a day, and then another, and then I give up."
• Why? "Because my plan requires me to work out for 60 minutes, 5 days a week."
• Why is that a problem? "Because my schedule is unpredictable, and I only realistically have 60 free minutes about twice a week."

The Aha!: The problem isn't your discipline. It's your unrealistic planning. The diagnosis is completely different, which means the solution is different. Instead of "more willpower," the real solution is "design a plan that fits your actual life."

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS: THE FOUR MOVES

• Parallel Tracks: Develop multiple options at the same time to avoid commitment bias and choose based on merit.
• Pattern Extraction: Look for successful patterns in your past and apply them to new challenges instead of reinventing the wheel.
• Forward Time Travel: Project your options into the future to see which one compounds and aligns with your long-term goals.
• Backward Time Travel: Trace recurring problems to their root cause instead of just treating the symptoms.

The "Aha!" Insight: Better Processes, Not Just Better Information

Here is the single most important insight:

"Better decisions don't come from better information. They come from better thinking processes."

Better decisions don't come from gathering more data. They don't come from copying what worked for someone else. And they don't come from "trusting your gut" more.

They come from having a systematic way to think.

Once you have that system, everything changes. You stop feeling stuck. You stop second-guessing yourself. You stop making the same frustrating mistakes over and over.

This isn't about being "smarter" or more motivated. It's about running a better mental operating system. And the best part is, this system is trainable. It’s learnable. And it’s the key to taking control of your decisions.

Your Next Move: Discover Your Thinking Style

This article introduces the Four Moves—the foundational framework for systematic thinking. But the first step to improving your thinking is to understand how you think right now.

To help you do that, I’ve created the Systematic Thinking Scorecard.

It’s a free, five-minute diagnostic that shows you two critical things:

1. Which of the four moves you already use naturally. (You might be a natural at Pattern Extraction but never use Backward Time Travel, or vice versa.)
2. Where your biggest growth opportunity is. (What is the one move that, if you developed it, would have the biggest impact on your decisions?)

It’s completely free, takes about five minutes, and you’ll get personalized insights immediately.

Whether you're facing a complex career change, a recurring personal challenge, or any high-stakes decision, systematic thinking gives you a repeatable framework that works. Start by discovering your own thinking style today.