Why Smart People Make Terrible Decisions

Why Smart People Make Terrible Decisions

From Mindset Medicine by Katharine Loucaidou

May 22, 2026 · 45 min

About this episode

This episode explores why intelligent people often make poor decisions when faced with their own problems, introducing practical tools for better decision-making.

Why do smart people give great advice to everyone else, but make terrible decisions when the problem is their own? In this episode of Mindset Medicine, Katharine Loucaidou explores Solomon’s Paradox — the idea that we often reason more wisely about other people’s problems than our own. Through the stories of Steve Jobs, King Solomon, emotional decision-making, and personal reinvention, this episode looks at why intelligence, age, success, and experience do not always protect us from poor judgment when emotions take over. You’ll learn three practical tools for making better decisions: The pre-mortem — how to imagine a decision going wrong before you commit. The outside view — how to look at patterns, evidence, and outcomes instead of staying trapped inside your own emotional version of the story. The friend test — how to give yourself the same clear advice you would give someone else. If you are facing a difficult decision in your life, business, career, health, or next chapter, this conversation will help you step back, think more clearly, and see what you may be too close to notice. Subscribe to Mindset Medicine for more episodes on mindset, decision-making, reinvention…

People in this episode

Host: Katharine Loucaidou

Topics covered

  • decision-making
  • emotional intelligence
  • Solomon's Paradox
  • personal reinvention
  • judgment
  • business

Keywords

  • decision-making
  • Solomon's Paradox
  • emotional decision-making
  • judgment
  • personal reinvention
  • Steve Jobs
  • King Solomon

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