In order to become a better decision-maker, it's imperative to actively explore all four of the ways that decision quality and outcome quality relate… - Annie Duke

Dan Kahan's work on motivated reasoning also indicates that smart people are not better equipped to combat bias — and may even be more susceptible.

John Maynard Keynes, one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century, summed up this phenomenon well when he said, "Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally." Succeeding unconventionally carries with it the risk of experiencing failure as a result of veering from the status quo.

What is true for grit is true for optimism. Optimism gets you to stick to things that are worthwhile. But optimism also gets you to stick to things that are no longer worthwhile. And life's too short to do that.