In his latest book, Winning the Brain Game, published by McGraw-Hill Education (May 2016), Matthew May identifies and discusses what he characterizes as “the 7 fatal flaws of thinking.”

He explains how and why each causes so many problems and suggests a “fix” for it. Here they are, with six sharing the same prefix.

When we

1. Leap to a premature conclusion (“jump the gun”), we preclude further consideration of any others.

2. Fixate on one solution, again we preclude further consideration of any others.

3. Overthink, we ignore constraints while requiring additional resources.

4. Satisfice, we settle for “good enough” which almost never is.

5. Downgrade, we disengage from a challenge and neglect the given objective.

6. When Not Invented Here (NIH) happens, we impose our own judgment as authority by rejecting anyone else’s.

7. Self-censor, we try to protect ourselves from social rejection or ridicule. “We take ourselves out of the game.”

May devotes a separate chapter to each of the seven, providing excellent advice on to how repair damage done by these flaws as well as prevent further damage.