Monday 12 October 2015

HOW TO BE RATIONAL WHEN MAKING EMOTIONAL DECISIONS

Many times you will hear someone telling you when you get into an argument that “Don’t get emotional”. So you ask yourself that what is the line that separates being rational from being emotional. Yet the truth of the matter is that all that we do is to satisfy our sentiments.

All choices are emotional choices, from the choice of a spouse to the choice of a career. Otherwise all of us would be satisfied with our jobs. We would not need big houses, we would be satisfied with simple jobs and life would not have pleasures. 

Emotions cannot be ignored when considering the development of the civilization we see. Emotions drive beauty and most of the human wants are but impulses propelled by emotions. Without emotions there would fundamentally be no need for reason. Simply let us say it would be rational to walk along equatorial coast lines at noon naked and be heavily clothed in colder places. Yet when we come to a decision to put on a particular clothe we think of our appearance before people sometimes even before our comfort. Critically evaluating this, should we not consider comfort only?

Reason is essentially a tool to help us achieve our emotional needs. Emotions determine our mental, physical and social well being which caring for is very important. These emotions give us our variety and all we value as human being.

Basically, there is no reason without emotions. The apes prove more intelligent than other animals just because they relate more closely to human emotions. It is probable that our emotions make us as intelligent as we are.

It is important to know that decisions are basically choices to make to meet emotional need of the people on the basis of cost and benefit. The cost of each decision is weighed depending on the extent of emotional suffering of self and the people around.

Wise businesses look into the emotional use as the rational use of their products. Successes in most businesses through history depended heavily on emotions just as today. I am inclined to believe that emotions have always been the drivers of socioeconomic changes.

 Emotions cannot be switched on and off at will. We have to learn to deal with them since they are as dangerous as they are important.  They can easily get out of hand and impair our decision resulting into a long time of regret.

Being emotional yet rational
It is important that we come to terms that all our choices, big and small will be emotional. In understanding that fact we ought to conduct our personal emotional evaluation and find out when they are not being helpful.

Master the art of delayed gratification, and choice of gratification. You have to understand the value you will get from the choice you make and the emotional consequences that choice will have. Consider the duration the consequence will take.


Understand that all our decisions will always give us satisfaction for a moment, doubt or regret. So the only conclusive truth I will tell you is this. There are as many outcomes for all emotions as there are people on earth. These emotions and responses change more frequently than we sometimes can explain. They are more complex than anything you can ever imagine, but you have to learn and tame this wild stallion and ride on it to the highest mountain of satisfaction it can take you. 

There is no one perfect way guide of dealing with emotions, but you have to find a way to deal with your own horse and ride.

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