Seeing Sideways - How The Anchoring Bias Controls Your Decisions

“Clarity is resilience. Resilient thinkers don’t lock themselves into a decision just because it was the first one available.”

Why do first impressions and initial numbers have such a strong grip on our thinking? In this episode of Seeing Sideways, I unpack The Anchoring Bias—how our brains latch onto early information—and shares practical tools to reclaim clarity, flexibility, and sound judgment in everyday decisions.

What if the first thing you heard—or thought—was quietly steering every decision you've made since?

Key Takeaway Insights and Tools (with Timestamps):

• Anchoring Bias: When the Beginning Becomes the Benchmark
  The first number, impression, or idea becomes the mental anchor—shaping how we judge everything that follows.
  [01:03]
• The Trap of the First Input
  Whether it's pricing, people, or predictions, anchoring bias distorts judgment—even if the starting point is random or irrelevant.
  [02:09]
• Mental Reversals to Break the Frame
  Ask: “What if the first number had been different?” or “What if I’d heard praise instead of criticism first?” These exercises reveal how much the anchor influences your view.
  [06:29]
• Delay Judgment and Let Experience Lead
  Instead of jumping to conclusions, allow space for context to develop. A second impression often tells you more than the first.
  [06:54]
• Clarity Is Resilience
  Resilient thinkers don’t treat the first input as sacred—they stay flexible, compare perspectives, and make better-calibrated decisions.
  [07:48]

5. Additional Suggested Sections:

Referenced Tools & Concepts:

• Mental Reversals: Imagine the first input was totally different
• First Impression Filter: Ask yourself, “Would I feel differently if I heard this second?”
• Information Expansion: Deliberately seek out additional data points
• Delay Rule: Wait before reacting to emotionally charged first impressions

Bio:

Jason Birkevold Liem is a resilience and leadership coach, keynote speaker, and author of Seeing Sideways. He helps individuals and teams think more clearly, lead more intentionally, and make better choices in uncertain environments. His podcast It’s an Inside Job explores the psychology behind mindset, emotion, and decision-making.

Chapters

• 0:10 Introduction to Cognitive Biases
• 1:02 Exploring the Anchoring Bias
• 7:51 Homework for Reflection
• 8:16 Previewing the Negativity Bias

Transcript

0:07

Ever catch yourself focusing on what's wrong instead of what's possible? Or judging someone too quickly only to realize you were off? That's not a flaw. It's your brain doing what it was wired to do, taking shortcuts. In this special series, we're walking through my book, Seeing Sideways, One Chapter at a Time. Each episode explores a powerful cognitive bias that quietly shapes how we think, choose, and connect. These mental shortcuts helped our ancestors to survive. But today, they can cloud judgment, limit perspective, and chip away at well-being. So this isn't about fixing your brain. It's about understanding it so you can lead yourself with clarity, respond with intention, and build resilience from the inside out. In this episode, we are going to continue our discovery of those biases that shape our perception. This week, we are going to tackle the anchoring bias when the beginning becomes the benchmark. The anchoring bias is the brain's tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information it receives. That's the anchor. When making decisions, or making judgments. Even when the anchor is random, irrelevant, or even clearly arbitrary, it still shapes how we think. Now, the first number, the idea, the first impression sets a mental reference point. And everything that follows, well, it is compared to that first point. Now, once an anchor is in place, it subtly skews how we interpret future information. This bias affects how we negotiate, evaluate opportunities, estimate risks, and even form opinions about people. It's why first impressions matter more than we'd like to admit, and why your brain clings to the starting point even when better information comes along. The Trap. You see a sweater on sale for $200 marked down to $80. Suddenly, 80 bucks? Well, that feels like a deal, even if it's more than you typically spend. Or you're negotiating a salary and the first number tossed out, well, it becomes the frame of reference for the whole discussion. Or you hear someone say, you know what, he's difficult to work with, before you even meet them, which shapes how you interpret their every word and gesture. The anchoring bias shows up when you estimate time or cost. If someone says a project will take about a week, well, that becomes your baseline, even if it needs two weeks. If a news report starts with a shocking number, like a rise in crime or inflation, well, it sets the tone for interpreting related stats, even if the full context says otherwise. The twist. The anchoring bias likely evolved because early humans needed to judge quickly with limited information. So in uncertain environments, the first clue often carried survival value. Was that movement in the grass a predator? Was that a person, a friend, or a foe? Anchoring on the initial signal, well, it helped create fast, decisive reactions. The brain's default setting is efficiency, not precision. So when something grabs your attention first, it gets encoded as more important, even if it's wrong. This worked well when the stakes were physical and immediate. And so in today's data-heavy, nuanced world, anchoring can mislead us more often than it helps. The cost. Anchoring bias locks you into early assumptions. It can lead to poor decisions in hiring, pricing, negotiations, investments, and relationships. You name it, it will show up. Now, you might overpay, underestimate risk, or misjudge someone's intentions because you're comparing everything to a starting point that wasn't even accurate. It also limits learning. If your first impression of someone or something is strong, you're more likely to filter new information through that initial lens. Confirmation bias often kicks in, reinforcing the anchor and closing your mind. The longer you stay anchored, well, the harder it is to shift. The contrarian move. Anchoring bias latches onto the first idea, the first number, or first impression we receive and quietly builds a frame around it. Everything else, well, it gets interpreted through that lens. It limits flexibility, it distorts judgment, and makes early input feel like absolute truth. We need to learn how to unhook from the starting point and then restore our ability to think with range and context to break that bias. Creating distance from the first input. The brain treats the first number or idea as the most important simply because it arrived first, but the importance isn't earned by timing. When you encounter an anchor, a price, a label, a first impression, pause before reacting. Ask yourself, how would I think about this if I hadn't heard that first? That one question, well it creates the space to move from auto-reaction to conscious recalibration. You're not discarding the anchor, you're just not letting it lead. Collect more reference points. Anchoring bias thrives in isolation. When there's only one number on the table or one story in the air, well it becomes the default comparison point. If you want to dilute its pull, well then deliberately gather other inputs, more data points. What's the average price for this kind of service? What do multiple sources say? What has your experience shown? The more comparisons you create, the less power the original anchor has over your decision making. The goal isn't to erase the first impression, it's to surround it with context. Run mental reversals. One powerful way to expose the influence of an anchor is to imagine it never existed. What if the first offer had been twice as high or half as low? What if your first impression of a person had come from someone else's praise instead of a warning? By mentally flipping the scenario, what you do is you reveal how much the initial frame has shaped your current judgment. These simple thought experiments don't make the anchor disappear. Far from it. But they do remind us it's not the truth. It's just positioning. Delay judgment. Let experience shape your view. The anchoring bias pushes us to conclude quickly. But clarity often merges in time, not in haste. Hold your first impression lightly until you've had a chance to gather more first-hand experience. This applies to relationships, negotiations, and planning. So if someone makes a poor first impression, give it a second round. If an offer seems off, ask more questions. The delay isn't indecision. It's discipline. It's the difference between a fast answer and a well-calibrated one. Clarity is resilience. Resilient thinkers don't lock themselves into a decision just because it's the first one available. They stay nimble, they stay curious, and are willing to update. They don't treat the starting point as sacred. They treat it as one data point among many. When your mind learns to pause, compare, and reframe, you don't just get better outcomes. You reclaim your freedom to decide with intention. So as we round off today's episode, I'd like to give you a little homework. I want you to think of a recent decision you've been weighing about money, maybe it's work, maybe it's relationships, perhaps a new opportunity. What was the first input you received that shaped your thinking? Then ask yourself, how would I feel differently about this choice if I had started with something else or maybe nothing at all? In the next episode, we are going to talk about why your brain tunes into what's wrong more than right. And that's the negativity bias. Thanks for listening to this episode of Seeing Sideways. These biases aren't flaws. They're part of how our brains make sense of a complex world. But with awareness, we can move from reaction to reflection, from assumption to intention. So if today's episode offered you a new perspective, please share it with someone who might benefit. Because the real work of thinking clearly, choosing wisely, and leading with purpose, Well, it's all an inside job. See you next time. Music.