Seeing Sideways: Is Your Brain Gaslighting You? (The Availability Heuristic Explained)

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“What grabs your attention is not always what deserves it.”

Why do we fear shark attacks more than slipping in the bathtub? In this episode of Seeing Sideways, I explore The Availability Heuristic—a cognitive bias that tricks us into overestimating the importance of what’s most vivid, recent, or emotionally charged—and offers practical tools to reclaim clarity and balanced thinking.

Are your fears and decisions based on facts—or just what’s easiest to recall?

Key Takeaway Insights and Tools (with Timestamps):

• The Brain Confuses Vivid with True
  The availability heuristic makes rare, dramatic events feel more likely simply because they’re easier to recall—like fearing plane crashes over car accidents.
  [01:03]
• Emotional Urgency Isn't the Same as Relevance
  What grabs your attention doesn’t always deserve it. Ask yourself: “Would this still matter if I hadn’t just seen it?”
  [05:24]
• Zoom Out to See Patterns, Not Just Stories
  One viral video or negative review isn’t the full picture. Anchor your thinking in broader data and long-term trends.
  [05:55]
• Introduce Delay Before Reacting
  Strong emotional reactions distort decision-making. Build a habit of waiting 24 hours before acting on emotionally charged information. [06:37]
• Diversify Your Inputs
  Relying on one feed or viewpoint skews your perspective. Seek out varied, quieter sources to gain a more accurate picture of reality.
  [07:14]

If this episode gave you a fresh way to reflect on your decisions, share it with someone who could use more clarity in a noisy world—and follow It’s an Inside Job for weekly tools to help you lead from the inside out.

Jason Birkevold Liem is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Seeing Sideways. He specializes in helping professionals build emotional resilience, lead with intention, and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns. Through his podcast It’s an Inside Job, Jason explores the psychology and tools behind leading oneself and others through complexity and change.

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