192: The Neuroscience of Risk: Why Your Emotions Make You a Better Decision Maker
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify, YouTube & RumbleJoin our FREE CommunityFor decades, the advice on Wall Street was simple: take the emotion out of it. Denise Shull, founder of The ReThink Group and author of Market Mind Games, spent almost 30 years proving that advice is exactly backwards.Denise's path started in a University of Chicago graduate program studying the biology of the unconscious mind, before a chance conversation with a floor trader pulled her onto a Chicago trading desk in 1994. What she found there, and later confirmed through neuroeconomics research, is that emotion isn't the enemy of good decisions. It's the mechanism behind every decision, from what to eat for lunch to whether to take a six-figure market position. Patients whose brain injuries strip away emotional processing can't even choose a candy bar from a vending machine.In this conversation, Denise and Meredith explore what this means far beyond trading floors: how our relationship to authority, whether that's a doctor, an institution, or a headline, shapes whether we trust our own intuition, why sleep deprivation specifically impairs our ability to perceive risk, and why naming a feeling precisely before you act on it is often the difference between a good decision and a regretted one.If you've ever been told to "stay calm," "think positive," or "don't let your emotions get in the way," this episode makes the case that the opposite approach, feeling what you feel and asking why, is the actual skill worth building.Connect with Denise K. ShullSocial Media: @denisekshullWebsite: therethinkgroup.netBook: Market Mind Games (McGraw Hill, 2012)Resources MentionedDamasio, A. Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (1994) — foundational research on emotion-damaged patients and decision makingLerner, J.S. et al. — research on emotion and decision making at Harvard, including the finding that fact-saturation is not an effective strategy against fear-driven decisionsKnutson, B. (Stanford) — research on anticipatory affect and its operation across brain regions from brainstem to prefrontal cortex2005 neuroeconomics meta-analysis (Caltech-affiliated authors) summarizing the field's foundational findings on emotion and economic decision makingShull, D. "Freud's Path to Profits" — Denise's original 1994 articleShull, D. Market Mind Games (McGraw Hill, 2012)Timeshifter app — jet lag tool referenced for light, food, and caffeine timing protocolsConnect with The Reverse Aging Club: On Substack: reverseagingclub.substack.comJoin us for a weekly live hang out, Thursdays at 12noon ET https://zoom.us/meeting/register/j_07VPOWRbWYtZWbimO9bgInstitute of Applied Quantum BiologyRAC is a proud supporter of the non profit Institute of Applied Quantum Biology, a 501c3 dedicated to integrating quantum and circadian biology into health and wellness practice. Without ipublic support this science will take decades to become widely adopted.Donate to launch JAQB: https://givebutter.com/AQBjournallaunchYou can join the FREE QBC online community here: https://qbcpod.com/freecommunityThe Institute of Applied Quantum Biology, a non profit organization translating the new science into practical application: https://www.iaqb.foundation/certificationPodcast website: https://qbcpod.com/Tools we use: https://qbcpod.com/products/Recommended Products:Lifewave phototherapy patches. Highly recommended for women 45+ or anyone with a condition or symptom they'd like to see shift. Start with x39.Purchase retail: https://lifewave.com/qbcpodcast/store/products/40825027-6466-4cb8-92d3-dfc318d34a65For more info from Meredith, fill out this form: https://qbcpod.com/patches/Join Us On Social Instagram: https://instagram.com/reverseagingclubFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuantumHealthTVRumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheReverseAgingClubwithMeredithOkeX/Twitter: https://x.com/QBCPODIAQB ResourcesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/iaqb.ceThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy