One of the sneaky tricks people are often going to use to manipulate you is creating a false sense of urgency.

This happens a lot in marketing, like, “For a limited time only” and so on. Or somebody just saying, “Quick, what do you think we should do?” or at the last minute someone throwing a new curveball that you didn't plan for and expecting you to adjust your plans immediately.

My wife and I are trying to build a house right now. The contractor keeps hinting that material prices will go up “soon”. The finance broker is “worried” that we’ll miss out on a limited time offer for a 1 year fixed mortgage. Even just in general I’ve felt pressure my whole life from everyone around me to buy a house as soon as possible.

You're going to get a sense that you have to react quickly, like there's some doom that happens if you don't respond in the most urgent manner.

But very rarely is it the case that you actually need to respond urgently.

Unless someone's bleeding, or there's a bull charging at you, or someone's going to die if actions aren't taken immediately, then you don't need to act quickly.

Quite often, even the idea that something's going to be taken away if you don't act quickly is an illusion. Most businesses will still take your money if you go in late for the offer, or there will be another sale soon, or another company will do a similar offer if you ask for it.

Don't let people rush you, because you’ll make the worst decisions when you’re impulsive.

This isn’t an endorsement of overthinking, but make sure you pause, consider options, and just slow everything down when it feels like you’re being rushed.

It’s unlikely that someone is motivated to rush you for your best interests.

‍