Curb reward‑chasing to make smarter, calmer decisions under pressure

Alan loved the rush of a trade that looked obvious. The news hinted at a bailout, and his screen glowed green. He bought a large position, then doubled down when the price dipped. His hands felt warm on the keyboard, and the chat room cheered him on. When the rebound failed to arrive, losses forced him to sell, then buy again on the next rumor. By the time reality settled, most of his savings were gone.

A mentor reviewed the pattern with him. The problem wasn’t a lack of intelligence, it was reward sensitivity—the brain’s dopamine system lighting up at the prospect of a win, drowning out warning signals. They rebuilt his process. Every trade needed a one-page thesis, a position cap, and a stop rule decided in advance. Hype channels stayed closed during decisions. Premortems became as routine as coffee: “What breaks this?”

The first month felt slow, even boring. But he noticed something new. He slept. The wins were smaller, the losses smaller still, and the curve of his equity flattened into a steady rise. In a later downturn, he cut risk automatically while others chased false bottoms. His notebook carried a simple line: “When it feels thrilling, check the brakes.”

This approach mirrors findings that overconfidence and reward-chasing increase risk-taking, while pre-defined rules, outside views, and “cool” cues keep the prefrontal cortex engaged. By designing brakes before the thrill, you let caution save you without needing willpower in the heat of the moment.

Before your next high-stakes decision, write a one-page case with expected outcomes, stop rules, and kill criteria, then step away for a night or ask for an outside view. Strip out hype sources while you decide and add a cool cue like a checklist or timer to slow you down. Ask, “What would make this a bad bet?” and capture the answers where you can see them. Commit only after your brakes are visible. Try it once on a modest decision and track how you feel and perform.