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Does your belief system impact your decisions? Does the cereal go into the bowl first, or the milk? Why? Or, here’s one for all families: should the end of the toilet paper roll hang over or under? When it comes to internet over fixed wireless or general internet decision making, does what you already believe to be true color your decisions?

Bertrand Russell observed that “believing is the most mental thing we do.” Indeed, our beliefs define the world for us. They are the colored glasses through which we view everything in our world, that ‘color’ being how we perceive everything from people to habits to politics to religion.

The Psychology of Belief and Decision Making

James E. Alcock, Ph.D., in his book Belief: What It Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So Compelling, had this to say:

“Our thoughts and feelings, our actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is—for we never know reality directly—but to the world as we believe it to be. Because of our beliefs, we brush our teeth or don’t bother; we vote for Jennifer and not for John; we eat certain foods and avoid others; we worship one deity or another or none at all, and we rely on scientific medicine or homeopathy to cure our ills.”

Psychologists have identified several significant factors that influence our decision making. The most powerful include:

• Past experience - Prior positive results can motivate a yes decision, but we also tend to avoid repeating past mistakes.
• Cognitive biases -  These are stilted thinking patterns based on observations and generalizations that are often untrue. We tend to observe what we expect to see, even if its not there.
• Escalation of commitment - Am I in too deep already? If I say yes, what will it cost me further?
• Individual differences - Age, socioeconomic status (can I afford this?), gender, locale, etc.
• Personal relevance - Will this decision matter to me? To others? Is it important?

Every day, we are inundated with necessary decisions of all sizes and levels of importance. Obviously, we would hope to invest more thought in large, important decisions than simply choosing where to eat lunch. However, some of the same beliefs impact even small decisions to a large degree.

Take for example the relatively small choice of where to eat lunch:

• Past experience - "I’ve eaten here before and gotten bloated, so.. / I haven’t eaten here before, so..."
• Cognitive biases - "They are known for their zucchini pie and I hate green veggies, so… (and how do you feel about that?)"
• Escalation of commitment - "Can I get exactly what I want to eat, or must I choose from deals that include more?"
• Individual differences - "Can I afford to eat here?" "Am I the only single woman/single man/married woman/married man/yuppie/country bumpkin/millennial eating here?"
• Personal relevance - "Is the food here healthy? (I really want a cheeseburger instead...)" or "Do I believe in what this company supports?"

All this and even more filters through our mind as we peruse the choices available for lunch. And each of these factors have value and legitimacy, as long as they deal with facts and not preconceived notions or secondhand information.

The Psychology of Belief and Internet Decision Making

The same basic factors above come into play when making a decision about fixed wireless internet choices. And again, you must be sure that your beliefs are based on facts and not hearsay or rumor.

Here are some common beliefs encountered regarding internet over fixed wireless:

• Fixed wireless is slower
• Fixed wireless isn’t as secure
• Fixed wireless isn’t as reliable
• Fixed wireless should only be used as a redundancy

These misconceptions are not true. It is important to research and understand the decision you are making and attempt to take erroneous beliefs out of the equation. When making a decision on your provider, you must list the requirements of your own business and match them with the service that will get you what you need.

Let’s take our common decision making factors from above and put them into operation here regarding wireless internet choices:

Past experience - Even if you have dealt with fixed wireless internet in the past, recent changes and innovations have likely rendered your past experience out of date. You need to explore the current facts about fixed wireless internet.

Cognitive biases - Again, what you may have heard in the past is very likely irrelevant to today’s fixed wireless internet systems. Be sure you investigate the facts for yourself.

Escalation of commitment - Fixed wireless internet applications have changed dramatically over time, and you will very likely be surprised at the scalability and flexibility of current options. Check with a provider to see what is offered and how it meets what you need.

Individual differences - Every business has unique needs, so check with a local provider to discover how fixed wireless internet can best meet the needs of your company.

Personal relevance - How relevant is secure, reliable, high-speed internet access? If that is what you need, then fixed wireless internet is absolutely relevant to your business.

Why not let go of biases and preconceived ideas about fixed wireless internet and get the facts? Drop us a line at MHO and let’s talk about how a fixed wireless internet setup can provide exactly what you need for your size business.