Sunday Email - 4 Fave Behavioral Biases / Last 5 Days of the Year

Read time: ~4.35 minutes

Happy Sunday!

Every Sunday I offer strategies for the week ahead and a thought to fuel your action.

Think you remember things clearly? Think again.

By the age of 40, most of us have been awake for over 13 million minutes. That’s a lot of life, a lot of experiences. But let’s zoom in for a moment. Think about the last movie you watched—say, Top Gun: Maverick. It’s 2 hours and 10 minutes long. Can you recall every detail? Probably not. You might remember the general plot, maybe a scene or two. But the specifics? They’re hazy.

If it’s hard to remember 130 minutes of something we intentionally sat down to watch, how can we expect to have a crystal-clear image of 13 million minutes of life?

The other day, my wife and I had one of those small disagreements—normal marriage stuff. It was about what I’d said regarding our plans for the weekend. I was sure I’d said one thing, and she was certain I’d said another.

At that moment, I wished for some kind of magic replay button, like the one in this Progressive commercial. The funny thing is, the moment in question was just two days earlier, yet somehow, we both remembered it completely differently.

That’s the tricky part about memory. We’re not video cameras capturing moments exactly as they happen. Instead, our minds interpret what we experience, filtering it through our own lenses—shaped by our emotions, experiences, and biases. Over time, even those interpretations evolve, morphing into something new.

It’s easy to trust our memories. After all, they’re ours. But when we dig deeper, we realize they’re not as reliable as we’d like to believe.

Take persistence, for example. We often confuse it with brilliance in hindsight. Imagine one person taking 10 shots at a target, hitting the bullseye 8 times. Now imagine someone else shooting at a blank wall, then drawing a bullseye around the densest cluster of shots. Who’s the better shooter?

In life, we often act like the second shooter. We reinterpret events to fit the outcome, convincing ourselves it was skill rather than circumstance or persistence.

The same goes for our tendency to crave normalcy. Change is hard—talking about it is easy, but doing it is another matter. Think about retirement. It’s one thing to plan for it, but stepping into that unknown often feels like a leap too far. Our memories smooth out the rough edges over time, reframing the experience into something less jarring than it was.

And then there’s the way we rely on shortcuts in our thinking. In a fast-moving world, we don’t have time to question everything. Titles, credentials, and status act as cheat codes helping us quickly decide who to trust and what to believe. These mental shortcuts help us keep up, but they also blind us to the flaws in our own judgment.

Here’s the thing: memories don’t stay the same. They evolve.

When an event happens, we interpret it through the lens of who we are at that moment. But as time passes, we gain new experiences and insights, which reinterpret the past. Our memories blend what happened with what we’ve learned since. They’re not fixed snapshots—they’re more like evolving stories.

That’s why two people can remember the same event so differently, both feeling absolutely certain they’re right.

Knowing our memories are imperfect doesn’t mean we should stop trusting them. This means that we should approach them with curiosity. Instead of clinging to certainty, we can use questions to explore—not just to understand others but to better understand ourselves.

The next time you’re sure you remember something clearly, pause. What if your memory isn’t the whole story? What if the other person’s perspective has something to teach you?

Wisdom isn’t born from a single moment. It’s the result of many experiences aggregated and refined over time. Memories are the same—they’re shaped by the moments themselves and everything that happens in between.

So, when you look back, remember this: our memories aren’t perfect. They evolve. The specifics blur. The feelings change. And that’s okay. Because recognizing the imperfection of memory doesn’t diminish it. It makes us more open—more willing to ask, listen, and learn.

Maybe we’re not as smart as we think we are. But with a bit of humility and a lot of curiosity, we can be a little wiser.

A Thought To Ponder This Week

We have one more week of work for the year.

This coming week is our last opportunity at true deep work.

After this week, the rest of our time will be tying up loose ends as travel and holidays consume our focus.

The most focused I’ve been in the past is when I know I’m heading out of town the next day.

At this moment I find a different level of focus and execution.

Work gets done, my desk gets cleared and my brain gains freedom and clarity.

At times I suggest to people to work during the year as if they are going on vacation tomorrow.

It works.

But this week, it’s a reality.

This is your opportunity to take a giant leap.

And it’s a necessary leap. The final two weeks of the year give you an opportunity to be present with your loved ones.

So, go crush this week! Your future self will appreciate the work you put in over the coming 5 days.

The best is ahead!

-Matt

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