Make Better Decisions with This Shane Parrish-Inspired Prompt
Position Yourself for Better Results with These 8 Clear Thinking Principles
Welcome to Words Into Works. Each week, I share one article that helps you use AI to apply what you learn from nonfiction books. If you’ve ever finished a great book—and struggled to do something with it—this newsletter is for you. Paid subscribers gain full access to every prompt, walkthrough, and live example I’m creating to help turn ideas into action.
TL;DR
Poor decisions often arise not from a lack of knowledge but from emotional reactions and mental defaults. Shane Parrish calls these moments defaults, and when they take over, they can misalign your decisions with your true goals. In this issue, I explore how to recognize these defaults—emotion, ego, social pressure, and inertia—and offer a prompt to catch them early.
Note: I’m currently on summer vacation and will respond more slowly than usual. I’ll be back on July 28th and will catch up on replies then. Thanks for your patience. Now, on to today’s article.
I was sitting at my desk, eyes dry, inbox full, neck tense from the day.
A pop-up offered a “limited time” upgrade. Just click it, I thought, even though something in me pulled back.
I didn’t buy something I didn’t need because I didn’t understand my decision; I lost it because I was tired, frustrated, and ungrounded.
Said another way, my momentary impulsivity wasn’t due to ignorance, but rather, awareness without intervention: knowing better, and still doing worse.
Later, the big idea from Shane Parrish’s Clear Thinking resonated with me, particularly how decisions are often clouded when weʼre tired, rushed, or emotionally triggered.
This moment marked the first step toward realizing that defaults often steer our decisions without us even noticing.
Poor decisions donʼt stem from ignorance, but rather, from a lapse in awareness, where emotion hijacks judgment and ego clouds reason.
In fact, when these moments take over, they put you in a vulnerable position where your decisions are no longer aligned with your actual goals.
Parrish calls these defaults, and if left unchecked, they can subtly influence the course of your life.
Why You Need to Catch the Default Early
Your shoulders tighten. There’s heat behind your ears. You feel yourself nodding, but it’s not a real yes.
You speak impulsively. You raise your voice. You agree to things that don’t align with your intentions.
These moments are rarely dramatic, but if you look closely, they’re patterned. Can you see your version?
This is where clear thinking begins: by catching the signal early and repositioning yourself before the default takes over.
Parrish outlines four forces that shape our behavior, which, left unchecked, can hijack the decision before you realize you’ve made it:
Emotion? That’s snapping at your partner when you’re late.
Ego? Dodging a hard question in a meeting.
Social? Saying yes just because everyone else did.
Inertia? Sticking with the tool you hate because switching feels worse.
You might think it’s about facts. But we usually have the facts. What we lack is the moment of awareness to act before it’s too late.
Once you reposition, you choose clarity over compulsion, like saying “Not now” instead of “Fine” on the phone.
But awareness alone isn’t enough. Not in the moment. Not when the default is already steering. You need a tool.
This is where the prompt I created for myself comes in.
While the rest of us are chasing victory, the best in the world know they must avoid losing before they can win. It turns out this is a surprisingly effective strategy.
— Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking
A Prompt to Catch Yourself Before You React
Clear thinking's real challenge is recognizing when you're not thinking clearly.
And by the time a default takes over, it’s already steering. Unless you slow down, you won’t even know it’s happening.
That’s why I built a tool that forces the question back into focus before your day runs away with you.
After reading Clear Thinking, I needed something simple enough to use under pressure, and honest enough to call me out.
It starts with two questions:
Are you in a position to make a sound decision?
Which default is active: emotion, ego, social pressure, or inertia?
Tired? Rushed? Trying to prove something? That’s not clarity. That’s the signal to pause. The prompt below gives language for moments that often slip past us.
The prompt does three things:
It checks your position.
It surfaces your default.
It aligns your choice with who you want to become.
Use it when the stakes are high. Or when something feels… off.
Here’s the full prompt: