A 14th-century Buddha. These days, a Zen attitude may be best.

INTELLIGENCE ORI AND ROM BRAFMAN

Regardless of the locale - be it New York, London or Dubai - the reaction to the global market meltdown can be summed up by a singular Yiddish phrase: oy vey.
Add to the mix a barrage of media analysts painting doomsday scenarios, and stress starts to engulf us. For many of us, it’s decision time. What do we do with our investments- Do we sell our stocks- Rethink our retirement- With the warning lights flashing, our natural impulse is to react.
But that very moment, when the need to make a decision feels strongest, might very well be the time to do nothing at all. This holds true not only for investors facing a stock market crash, but for all of us in situations where there’s pressure to make a decision.
When alarm bells sound, we become most susceptible to acting irrationally. It’s like sitting in your car with an angry driver behind you blaring his horn. The moment we get stressed is the moment we start making the wrong choices.
It all comes down to our inability to analyze the information before us objectively. And the more there is on the line and the more we feel pressured to make a decision, the more likely we are to act irrationally.
Three specific traps veer us off the path of reason. The first is rushing into a diagnosis. In times of anxiety, we’re prone to make an extreme diagnosis: we’re headed into a depression, our company is about to go bankrupt, the sky is falling. Once we form a diagnosis, we dismiss any contradictory evidence.
That’s when the second irrational trap, loss aversion, takes over. We do anything we can - sell our stock portfolio, change our company strategy, store cash under the mattress - to hold on to what we have and curtail further losses. But taking extreme measures to avoid losses often means digging ourselves deeper into a hole.
And once we’re in a freefall, we’re vulnerable to a group mania. When everybody else is panicked, it’s that much easier to get panicky.
It’s times like these we need to take a more Zen approach.
What’s true for toddlers and sports teams is also true for us: sometimes we need to take a timeout. Don’t make any big decisions when you’re surrounded by chaos. Taking a break allows us to consider things more logically. Making an important decision based on elevated emotions is almost always a recipe for a disaster.
Next, keep the long-term perspective in mind. Remember that decisions you make today will have ramifications years from now. Is the decision you’re about to make best for your long-term well-being?
Third, talk with people you respect. Take their perspectives into account, and if you disagree, talk to them until you fully understand their perspective, so that even if they’re wrong, you can rationally explain why.
Our internal “oy vey” meter is the best indicator to take a step back, look through a wide lens, consult others and - counterintuitive as it sounds - avoid making a decision until we feel a modicum of Zen calmness.

Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman are co-authors of “Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior.” Ori Brafman, M.B.A., is an international speaker on organizational behavior and management. His brother Rom Brafman, Ph.D., is a psychologist who lectures on interpersonal dynamics. Send comments to brafmans@nytimes.com.