Most people operate in what Brian Tracy calls the “reactive-responsive mode” in his book “Get Smart!” – reacting instantaneously to stimuli without any deliberate thought between the trigger and the response. They’re essentially stimulus-response machines, operating on autopilot from the moment the alarm clock rings until they collapse into bed at night.
This isn’t necessarily a problem for routine decisions. Whether you order a hamburger or a fish patty for lunch doesn’t require extended contemplation. But when people use this same fast-thinking approach for decisions with serious long-term consequences – career choices, major investments, business strategies, life partnerships – the results can be catastrophic.
The distinction between fast and slow thinking represents one of the most important cognitive tools you can develop. Understanding when each is appropriate, and having the discipline to slow down when it matters, can prevent most of the major mistakes people make in business and life.
The Two Thinking Systems
Tracy draws heavily on Daniel Kahneman’s research distinguishing between fast and slow thinking. Fast thinking is automatic, instinctive, intuitive – like driving a car in traffic or making conversation. It’s effortless and requires minimal cognitive resources.
Slow thinking is deliberate, analytical, effortful – like solving a complex math problem or evaluating a business opportunity. It requires conscious attention and mental energy.
Both have their place. As Tracy notes, “For most of our activities, such as conversations, meetings, navigating daily life, or grocery shopping, fast thinking is both appropriate and necessary.”
The critical error is using fast thinking for slow-thinking situations. Making snap judgments about career paths, rushing into marriages, committing to major investments without thorough analysis – these are category errors with predictable consequences.
“The biggest mistake that most people make,” Tracy writes, “is that they use fast thinking in making long-term, vital decisions, where slow thinking is much more appropriate.”
Why Thinking Is Hard Work
Thomas Edison observed that “thinking is the hardest work of all, which is why most people avoid it at all costs.” This isn’t poetic exaggeration – it’s neuroscience.
Deliberate thinking consumes glucose, the brain’s primary fuel, at a much higher rate than automatic processing. It’s genuinely exhausting. After several hours of focused analytical work, your brain is measurably depleted of resources.
This explains why so many people default to fast thinking even in situations that demand slow, careful analysis. It’s not moral weakness or stupidity – it’s the path of least resistance. Fast thinking feels easy and natural. Slow thinking requires sustained effort and discipline.
Tracy emphasizes that “good thinking is hard work. It must be learned and practiced over and over if you are going to truly plumb the depths of your mental powers.”
The good news: like any skill, deliberate thinking becomes easier with practice. The initial resistance diminishes. What once required tremendous effort eventually flows more naturally. Not automatically – slow thinking never becomes as effortless as fast thinking – but more accessible and less draining.
The Consequences Framework
The key to knowing when slow thinking is required lies in understanding consequences. Tracy consistently returns to this principle: “Almost all of the mistakes we make in life come from not carefully considering the consequences of our actions beforehand.”
This provides a simple decision rule: if the potential consequences are significant – affecting your career trajectory, financial security, major relationships, or long-term wellbeing – slow thinking is mandatory.
Decisions about college courses, career paths, marriage partners, major investments, business strategies – all require slow thinking because the consequences extend years or decades into the future. Getting these wrong doesn’t just cost you lunch; it can derail your entire life.
The more important the decision’s long-term impact, the more time you should take before committing. As Tracy advises, “Buy time for yourself whenever possible. Put as long a gap as possible between the stimulus and the response, between the thought and the decision.”
The Seventy-Two-Hour Rule
Tracy introduces a practical tool: the Seventy-Two-Hour Rule. For any major decision, give yourself at least three days before committing.
This might sound simple, but it directly counters the pressure most people feel to decide quickly. Sales tactics, social pressure, and our own impulsiveness push toward immediate decisions. The 72-hour rule creates space for reflection.
“The longer you take to make an important decision, the better that decision will be in almost every case,” Tracy writes.
Lord Acton’s principle applies: “If it is not necessary to decide, it is necessary not to decide.” Most decisions can wait. The few that genuinely can’t wait are rarely improved by rushing anyway.
When someone pressures you for an immediate answer, Tracy suggests responding: “If you insist on an answer immediately, the answer is NO. But if you let me think about it for a while, the answer might be different.”
This simple statement protects you from pressure tactics while keeping options open. It also reveals whether the other party genuinely wants what’s best for you or just wants to close the deal before you think too carefully.
Thinking on Paper
One of Tracy’s most powerful recommendations is deceptively simple: think on paper. Write down every detail of the problem or decision.
“Something amazing happens between the head and the hand when you write things down,” Tracy observes. The act of writing forces you to slow down, organize your thoughts, and make implicit assumptions explicit.
Francis Bacon noted that “writing maketh an exact man.” When you try to write out a decision, vague feelings crystallize into specific considerations. Contradictions become visible. Missing information reveals itself.
Tracy recommends writing by hand rather than typing when possible. The slower, more deliberate process of handwriting further slows your thinking and deepens the analysis.
Often, as you write fact after fact, the right decision becomes obvious. The answer was there all along, but it required the discipline of written analysis to surface it.
People Decisions Require Maximum Slow Thinking
“Fully 95 percent of business success,” Tracy writes, “will be determined by the quality of the people whom you attract and assign, appoint, and delegate the work to.”
This makes hiring decisions among the most consequential you can make. Yet people routinely rush them, making snap judgments based on first impressions and superficial charm.
Peter Drucker’s warning applies: “Fast people decisions are invariably wrong people decisions.”
The stakes extend beyond business. The people you choose to work with, work for, socialize with, marry, invest through, or partner with “will determine about 85 percent of your success and happiness in your personal life.”
Tracy shares the hiring secret of a top sales manager: the Thirty-Day Rule. “No matter how much I like the candidate, I discipline myself to wait thirty days before I make a final decision.”
Why? Because “a person who may look excellent in the first or second meeting often starts to reveal weaknesses and character flaws that make him or her completely inappropriate over the long term.”
First impressions are fast thinking – automatic, intuitive, superficial. They’re often wrong. Character and competence only reveal themselves over time, through multiple interactions in different contexts.
The same principle applies to romantic relationships, business partnerships, and major deals. Slow down. Give yourself time. Resist the pressure to commit before you really know.
Strategic Planning as Forced Slow Thinking
Strategic planning, whether for business or personal life, essentially forces you to engage in slow thinking. You step back from daily operations and deliberately consider the long-term future.
“In strategic planning, you are forced to think slowly, to carefully consider the likely consequences of an action or a decision,” Tracy writes. “You are designing the long-term future of your business.”
Without this structured slow thinking, most people never pause to ask whether their current trajectory is leading where they actually want to go. They’re too busy reacting to immediate demands.
Michael Kami’s observation applies: “Those who do not plan for the future cannot have one.”
Tracy recommends blocking out substantial time – even full days – for strategic thinking, especially during periods of change and turbulence. “Go for a long walk and let your mind relax. Discuss your future goals with your spouse. Take two or three days off where you disconnect from all electronic devices.”
This last point is crucial. Constant electronic connectivity is the enemy of slow thinking. Every ping, notification, and incoming message pulls you back into reactive mode. Deep strategic thinking requires disconnection.
The Practice of Solitude
Perhaps Tracy’s most demanding recommendation is the regular practice of solitude – thirty to sixty minutes alone, in complete silence, with no music, devices, or distractions.
For most people, this sounds unbearable. We’re addicted to stimulation, filling every moment with input. The idea of sitting quietly with no entertainment feels like torture.
“When you first practice solitude, you will find it extremely difficult,” Tracy acknowledges. “You will fidget and think of things that you could get up and do. You will almost have to hold yourself down for the first twenty to twenty-five minutes.”
But then something shifts. “At that point, something wonderful will happen. All of your tension and stress will begin to drain away, and you will feel completely relaxed. You will start to enjoy the sensation of simply sitting in the silence.”
And that’s when the insights come. “At this point, your mind will begin to flow with thoughts, ideas, insights, perspectives, solutions to problems, and other inspirations, any one of which can change your life.”
Tracy makes a remarkable promise: “Whenever you have a problem, a difficulty, an obstacle, a frustration, or a challenge in your life, go into the silence and sit quietly. The very first time you do this, almost without exception, the answer to your biggest problem will come to you.”
The answer won’t be partial or vague. “It will be complete in every respect. It will answer every detail of the problem or difficulty. It will be simple, clear, and completely within your capabilities to act.”
This isn’t mysticism. It’s accessing the deeper processing capabilities of your mind – capabilities that constant stimulation and fast thinking keep suppressed.
When Fast Thinking Is Appropriate
Fast thinking isn’t wrong – it’s just wrong for consequential decisions. For routine choices, social interactions, and familiar tasks, fast thinking is not just appropriate but necessary.
You can’t function by deliberating over every minor decision. Analysis paralysis is real. Some people overthink trivial choices, wasting mental energy that should be reserved for important ones.
The skill is discernment – knowing which category a decision falls into. Tracy provides clear guidance: look at the consequences. If they’re minor and short-term, decide quickly and move on. If they’re major and long-term, slow down and think carefully.
The GOSPA Model
To structure slow thinking, Tracy recommends the GOSPA model: Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Priorities, and Actions.
Goals are your long-term targets – where you want to end up. Objectives are the intermediate milestones you must reach along the way. Strategies are the various approaches you could use to achieve each objective. Priorities determine which strategies matter most. Actions are the specific, time-bounded steps you’ll take.
Working through this framework forces systematic slow thinking. It prevents you from jumping to solutions before fully understanding the problem. It surfaces assumptions. It reveals missing information. It connects tactical actions to strategic goals.
“This method of thinking, and carefully considering each action you must take, dramatically improves your decision-making abilities,” Tracy writes.
The Ultimate Test
Here’s how you know if you’re thinking slowly when it matters: Can you clearly articulate, in writing, the reasoning behind your decision? Can you explain the consequences you anticipate, the alternatives you considered, and why you chose this path?
If not, you’re probably operating on fast thinking – intuition, impulse, or social pressure dressed up as analysis.
True slow thinking produces clarity. You know not just what you decided, but why. You can defend your reasoning. You’ve considered what could go wrong and how you’ll respond.
As Tracy emphasizes, “The more carefully you think and plan before taking action, the faster you take control over your success in the future.”
The investment of time in slow thinking pays compound returns. One hour of careful thought before a major decision can save hundreds of hours of dealing with bad consequences. One day of strategic planning can prevent years of wasted effort.
The question is whether you have the discipline to slow down when everything in modern life pushes you to speed up.