Emotions + Logic = Good Decison

If stereotypes are true:

Women = emotions   Men = analytic logic  Woman + Man = perfect combination

Most of our decisions are driven by emotions and logic. Emotions indicate how we feel about the situation and logic helps us to gather the information. Both emotions and logic contribute to the way we live our life. But why do we still make mistakes? Because emotions and logic do not work separately. We need to consider both of them to be able to make a good choice.  

First we need to make sure that we know how to use both of them.

Emotions:

Emotions can be tricky and if we react to them without previously considering the possible outcomes of our behavior we can be in trouble. Emotions can be limiting too.

Case Study 1:

Liz was reared by a loving yet controlling and perfectionist parents . When she made a mistake she was being told it was wrong and made to fix it, however was rarely asked about the cause of the issue. At school when Liz made a mistake, she was punished by low marks. She learned that making a mistake means a failure. In order to be successful she must achieve high and should not make any mistakes. She feels bad about herself every time she makes an error. Once she realizes there is an issue she feels guilty and incapable of doing anything right. Liz reacts to her errors emotionally. The way she feels influences her future decisions. If she is not able to do things right, sometimes she feels as if there is no point trying anyway. She follows her emotions, but is she aware of them? Does she know that the way she feels derives from her past experiences? Probably not, as we can see that her decisions and self judgments are not very logical. She may have made some errors, because the task was new to her, maybe she did not have enough information or
maybe the task was too difficult.

       When it comes to emotions Awareness is the key.

1.   Know how you feel (physically and psychologically)
2. Name the feeling (angry, sad, disappointed, frustrated, happy, comfortable, relaxed, etc)
3. Why do you feel this way? (past experiences, present situation, influence of others)
4.  How is this feeling affecting your decision making process?
5. Can you be objective and logical while feeling this way?

Once we know how the emotions are affecting us, it is time to use our logic. Logic means the ability to gather as many information as we need to make the best decision. However logic used on its own can lead to some troubles too.

Case Study 2:

John felt his new boss did not have a good personality and could be difficult to work with. When he logically analyzed the situation he decided to blank the emotions, explaining to himself that it is only a feeling. Logically he was aware that knowing him only briefly, did not provide enough information to make a correct judgment about his personality. It took ten difficult months to realize that the guy was a boss from hell who made John stressed and uncomfortable most of the time. That had a negative impact on John’s work.

After Awareness of how we feel comes logic. Depending on the situation it can be the other way around. First logic than feelings. It’s important that both are present and acknowledged before the decision is made.  

Logic:

1. Gather as many information about the situation as you need to feel comfortable making the decision (read reviews, ask people)
2. Give yourself enough time to digest the data
3. From the available information write down all the positive and negative

The final step:

Based on the gathered information use the awareness of how you feel about the situation. Combining the feelings and logic we are able to make the best decisions. It may not be a perfect decision as perfection simply does not exist, but it will be good enough.

Case Study 3:

Kate felt something was wrong. She realized that was tired and stressed out. She took her time to decide what she really wanted. After analyzing her current situation she decided that needed to change the environment and rest. She was aware of the way she felt and knew that planning a few days off could be beneficial. After gathering enough information about the available options and choosing the most suitable time she went away. She spend time off relaxing by the sea and when she went back she was able to enjoyed her life again.

Knowing ourselves is the key. Take your time to find out how you feel, what you want, what can you gain and how can you get it. Use your emotions and your logic. Learn to trust yourself.