At the FBI Academy, we spent 5 months learning how think under pressure. There were no timeouts in our firearms training to gather and evaluate data or consult trusted colleagues. Often, we had only seconds to gain clarity about our situation. Would we make the right decision on whether to draw our gun on a suspect?
We trained to be elite performers. There was no room for error. We needed to be methodical because we were confronted with fluid situations. We didn’t have the luxury of time to drift through difficult circumstances or hope they might change. Every action and thought needed to be intentional if we wanted to perform well under extraordinary pressure.
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Good decision-making is a process that can be taught like everything else. It’a a simple formula: how you do the little things determines how you do the big things.
We often use confusion to disguise our hesitation to make hard decisions. After all, if we pile on enough complications, it justifies dragging our feet, making excuses, or blaming others.
Making good decisions under pressure is crucial, especially in high-stakes situations with limited time. As an FBI agent, I needed to make a quick yet accurate assessment of the perceived threats before me. Leaders also need to make good decisions while under pressure.
While circumstances may be different, the strategies remain the same. Here are some practical tips:
1. Condition your mind
Decision-making is like a muscle. The more we practice it, the better we get. Muscle memory kicks in under pressure because we don’t have to think about the small things; we’re ready for the big ones.
Great decision-makers aren’t born with supernatural gifts. They excel in many areas of their lives because they constantly train and condition their minds. They don’t get lazy in their thinking because conditioning is about building a structured way to analyze their circumstances.
For example, an instructor caught me cutting a corner during a three-mile run at the FBI Academy and made me circle back to make the proper turn. It took five extra steps, but it conditioned my mind to treat the small things as seriously as the big ones.
The difference between elites and amateurs is that elites train at everything, regardless of the size of the challenge or whether they’re good at it. My mind was conditioned by the discipline of turning a proper corner instead of taking a shortcut when no one was looking. To this day, I never cut corners.
Most people avoid spending time on things they don’t excel at, but elites understand the value of mitigating a weakness. They develop their strengths, but they don’t ignore areas where they need to improve, because when the pressure is on, the options and choices available to them expand.
My tip: Leaders can toughen their minds to handle unexpected situations by asking themselves, “How would I respond if…” Work through potential scenarios using visualization.
2. Practice, practice, practice
When we practice, it means we’re willing to work on the critical details to get better. We practice something until we become successful; that’s where the average person stops—at the point where they find success. They stay in a comfort zone that leads to mediocrity.
Many of us mistake activity for practice. The popular and mistaken belief that 10,000 hours of practice will make us experts is dangerous. Instead, what good decision-makers need is deliberate practice that focuses on smaller, harder breakthroughs accompanied by continual assessment.
Deliberate practice, coined by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson in the 1990s, requires us to continually examine whether we’re as competent as we think we are. We need to look for mistakes to learn from and improve our performance rather than cover them up.
Elite performers look for ways they can stretch themselves with every performance. Experts generally agree that the challenge should be 4% greater than either their skill or last effort.
4% growth is seen as the magical balance between challenge and skill. Most of us don’t notice a 4% increase in performance, yet it’s beneficial because this balance keeps us locked in the present and gives us enough confidence to do it again.
My tip: Practice your decision-making skills with self-analysis so you can improve your next performance by 4%.
3. Focus on the present
Our brain can handle only so much information, so we need to focus. One key part of the brain that focuses our attention is the Reticular Activating System (RAS). It filters out important information that needs more attention from the unimportant information that can be ignored. Without the RAS filter, we would be overstimulated and distracted by noises from our environment.
We cannot focus on our goal and the activity in front of us at the same time. This overstimulates the brain. When we think about our goal, our attention becomes focused on something that will happen in the future. Our attention needs to be focused on what’s happening in the present moment.
This explains why so many golfers miss a putt at the end of the final round or why football players drop the ball just inches from the finish line. They choke because their attention shifts from the present to the future, causing them to lose focus.
My tip: While goals are important for the long term, your brain needs to focus on the present moment’s activity if you want to become an expert. Focus only on that activity and stay in the present. Don’t let your imagination transport you to the finish line.
Making good decisions under pressure is crucial, especially in high-stakes situations with limited time. These tips will help you make sound decisions under pressure and turn challenging situations into opportunities for success.
Featured Image Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
© 2026 LaRae Quy. All rights reserved.
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