Everyone knows the feeling: you’re in a hurry, and suddenly, everything goes wrong. You forget things, stub your toe, spill coffee, and make decisions you later regret. Ironically, a rushed action often takes longer than if you had just taken your time. But why does our brain work this way under pressure? In this blog, we dive into the psychology behind rushing and its impact on decision-making and safety.
What Happens in Your Brain When You’re in a Hurry?
Rushing happens when you pressure yourself to act faster. Your brain responds by increasing communication between brain cells. This has an advantage: you can think and act more quickly. But it comes at a cost.
The Chain Reaction of Rushing
Your body needs to keep up with the speed boost. That’s why your brain produces extra stress hormones, increasing your heart rate, raising your blood pressure, and giving your muscles extra energy. This prepares you for action.
Stress and Rushing: The Same Mechanism
Even though we see stress and rushing as two different things, our brain and body react in the same way. In both cases, we become more alert and focused. At first glance, this seems useful, but there are serious downsides.
Why Does It Go Wrong?
Rushing affects two key processes:
- The quality of your decisions – Your brain switches to fast, automatic reactions that aren’t always well thought out.
- Your risk awareness changes – Under pressure, you take risks you would never take in a calm situation.
- The Autopilot Takes Over
The Energy Problem in Your Brain
Working faster costs more energy. Within a minute, your brain’s energy supply runs low, and new energy must be delivered. But not all brain areas receive the same amount of blood flow. The primitive, survival-oriented parts—closest to the heart—are prioritized, while the “smarter” brain areas responsible for logical thinking are left with less. They get fewer sugars and oxygen, meaning you rely more on routine and automation and are less able to make rational decisions. Later, you think: How could I have been so stupid?
Your Risk Awareness Changes
In life-threatening situations—like those our distant ancestors faced—it was crucial not to hesitate. The brain developed a mechanism for this: as soon as a fight begins, it suppresses pain and fear responses. All brakes are released, and we use all our strength. After all, in the heat of battle, pain only distracts. We tend to our wounds later.
The Urge to Solve Problems
This mechanism can be beneficial—such as when you need to react quickly in a dangerous situation—but it can also lead to completely wrong decisions. Think of managers making disastrous choices under pressure or teams desperately trying to fix an urgent problem. Under high stress, we often fall into simple and impulsive behaviors, which come with significant risks.
Tunnel Vision and Insensitivity to Feedback
When we’re in a rushed or stressful situation, we develop tunnel vision. We see and hear less, making us less open to advice from others. Ironically, this is when we need help the most.
What Can You Do About It?
When you’re stressed, you don’t immediately realize it, making it difficult to correct quickly. The good news: you canhelp someone else snap out of their rush mode. But this requires a direct approach. Soft feedback won’t work. Someone who is rushing needs a clear, firm message to regain focus. Think of a traffic controller giving strict, direct instructions in a chaotic situation.
Psychological Safety
This is only possible in an environment where people feel safe correcting each other. But that’s a topic for a future blog! 😉