Top 10 Thinking Traps Exposed. Our minds set up many traps for us. Unless we’re aware of them, these traps can seriously hinder our ability to think rationally, leading us to bad reasoning and making stupid decisions. Features of our minds that are meant to help us may, eventually, get us into trouble. Here are the first 5 of the most harmful of these traps and how to avoid each one of them. 1. The Anchoring Trap: Over-Relying on First Thoughts “Is the population of Turkey greater than 35 million? What’s your best estimate?” Lesson: Your starting point can heavily bias your thinking: initial impressions, ideas, estimates or data “anchor” subsequent thoughts. This trap is particularly dangerous as it’s deliberately used in many occasions, such as by experienced salesmen, who will show you a higher-priced item first, “anchoring” that price in your mind, for example. What can you do about it?
Always view a problem from different perspectives. 2. Consider the status quo as just another alternative. 3. 4. 5. Writing Community for Writers, Readers and Literary Agents. Submit Works, Read & Rate Writings. Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing. Online Books, Poems, Short Stories - Read Print Library. A Dream Of Death by William Butler Yeats. Cure writer's block with writing prompts - writing tips character name generator. 100 Must Read Books: The Man’s Essential Library.