How can you make better decisions when you're feeling emotional?

Emotions by definition are very personal orientation . Ability to make correct decision is compulsorily based on objective evaluation of extant facts and deriving non-personal conclusions. So once we acknowledge our emotions our decisions move out of the shadow of instinctual impact .

For very important decisions, and when feeling emotional, I usually follow a very famous french adage saying "la nuit porte conseil", meaning "sleep on it". It means = I would need to decide, forget about it a few hours, and when I come back to it, in a different mood/ environment, I check if I am still aligned with my first decision. Usually it works very well!

The best way is to stay away from making any decision until you feel better. Try to take a big walk around the property or park as it might help you to renew your thought. This is very common as we might have a long or even bad days that might somehow affect our emotions. Thus, it's always good to take a step back and give your brain a better room for decision making.

Making decisions while emotional can be challenging, as emotions can cloud judgment and lead to impulsive choices. There are strategies I employ to make better decisions even when I am emotional. 1. I Give myself Time: I give myself some time to cool off and let the initial emotional intensity subside. This helps me approach the decision more rationally. 2. Consider Consequences: I evaluate the potential consequences of each decision and consider both short-term and long-term outcomes to make more informed choices. 3. Learn from Past Experiences: I reflect on previous decisions made during emotional states and consider the outcomes. I the use this information to learn from my experiences and develop strategies for future situations.

I generally go on counting 100 to 1 and also bounce it with few of my close people. My learning is that once you give time to yourself, the final decision will always have depth and are at least 70% in right direction. Second is communication. It is important to communicate your thoughts instead of keeping it with self as they may make you venture towards wrong north

It can be helpful to slow down and give yourself time to process the emotion. We can't really get rid of emotion in decisions, but we can use to learn the emotion as information to inform the decision we make. While we've been conditioned to believe the best way to decide is to make it unemotional, the reality is that valuable insight is contained within the feelings we experience. Pausing, breathing and reflecting to identify that information and emotion can lead to a better outcome.

There is power in taking a pause before immediately reacting to something. Emotional reactions often lead to irrational decision-making. Taking time to gather thoughts ensures that your immediate response is well thought out. I’ll often ask myself three questions before responding: Does it need to be said? Does it need to be said right now? Does it need to be said by me? Handling situations with clarity and patience reduces the chance for “clean up” later. Respond don’t react.

We can never let go of emotions as we are human beings they are part of us. Only if in the times we are aware of what emotions are going inside , we acknowledge it will help us to take right decisions. Most of the times it is hindsight intelligence which works if at all it can come at present, perhaps the decision making will be more practical.

There is a scientific underpinning to the importance of this step. Emotions, stress activate the amygdala - an automatic response of the brain to stress. The frontal lobes are what control thinking and reasoning. Pausing and breathing allow us to create a distance between the brain’s automatic response to stress and the part of our brain that allows reasoned thinking to occur. The latter is where the best decisions can be made from. Even decisions based on intuition need that space for the right instincts to kick in.

Take yourself off for a walk or spend some time in nature. Even just for a short time, this can help to calm the mind. You may find that you return to the decision with a fresh perspective and feel more able to cope.

In such situations, my approach generally tends to be as follows: When making a decision, I list my own reasons and try to anticipate the possible outcomes and effects of the decision. Then, I visualize two people whose judgment I trust and put myself in their shoes, attempting to predict how they would decide and the reasons they would present. I compare these scenarios in my mind and strive to understand the reasons for any differences. Honesty with oneself is crucial during this process. Finally, to confirm my choice, I ask a couple of people whose opinions I value and, after receiving their input, solidify my decision.

This is a crucial phase of any decision making process, seeking a different perspective always work especially coming from a mentor or a trusted professional who can see the bigger picture outside of your box which can lead to more clarity into making the correct decision

- I frequently ask myself, what if I am wrong? - Is there some reason(s) why this is my view ? - What previous experience could be influencing my current view? We make better decisions when we seek more data (information), challenge our immediate views and push ourselves to refresh our thinking (this worked at company X so it should work at company Y but why not augment and improve the thinking?

One caveat: sometimes seeking perspectives can be excessive - for example, if it is driven by fear or a desire to avoid making a decision. In other words, it can also be driven by emotions!

Feeling emotional and vulnerable is a part of being human and we should appreciate that it happens with everyone at different points in their life. Some tips to help with the situation: - know that it's with everyone and there's nothing wrong with you/ us - differentiate between what you're feeling Vs what you're saying/ expressing - try to stay calm and maintain composure - avoid any medication unless discussed with your physician - stay closer to family or close friends - keep your line/ senior management informed about your emotional distress - engage in creative activities to help you clear the head

I belong to the camp that believes that if faced with a situation where the pattern of emotional upsurge is continuous, it is very critical to have a heart-to-heart chat with those that seem to be causing it. There may be a misalignment of objectives, there could be insecurities of a few involved or simply there could be a cultural dissonance. Best to confront in a peaceful way, assess whether there is a workable via-media. It is also good to have some one neutral, who you have respect for, sit in these meetings. This will ensure you have given it your all to resolve.

Una vez que hayas tomado una decisión, reflexiona sobre cómo te sentías emocionalmente en ese momento y cómo esas emociones pudieron haber influido en tu elección. Este análisis te ayudará a aprender de la experiencia para futuras decisiones.

A mi me ha resultado útil no enviar un mail cuando estoy molesto, me tomo unos minutos para caminar y volver a leer mi mensaje, regularmente encuentro palabras que no usaría típicamente o que delatan mi emoción; el escribir emocionalmente libera pero no necesariamente debe ser compartido, tómense unos minutos más para caminar preguntándose qué consecuencias traería enviar ese mensaje, también escuchar una canción que los tranquilice o hacer ejercicios de respiración eso les dará un estado distinto para poder reconocer desde que emoción están escribiendo para evitar cualquier mal entendido o disgusto.

It never ceases to amaze me just how impulsive people generally are. Our brains are really fantastic at being reactive and dealing with an external stimulus, such as a crisis. Combine this with the brain's energy preservation mechanism of overgeneralization, a cognitive distortion where we apply a situation to one the looks similar, and you are left with a recipe for bad decisions. Sometimes the best way to consider the consequences is to not rush into making a decision. Allow yourself some time to let your emotions subside and the rational part of your brain to map out the consequences of your potential decisions.

Siempre es recomendable pensar y luego actuar, es por ello que al momento de sentirte “emocional” ante cualquier situación, es mejor dejar que la cosas se enfríen y tomar al toro por los cuernos cuando lo tengas claro. Si se toma una medida en ese momento y tus emociones no están alineadas con tu objetivo, el resultado será malo, inclusive, te puede llegar a costar muy caro en el futuro. Recomiendo siempre preguntarte, ?Qué pasa si actuó, hablo, digo esto en este momento? ?Tengo algún beneficio? ?Cuánto y Qué gano o pierdo? Recuerda que solo tienes pocos segundos para responder estas y otras preguntas ligadas a tu actuar emocional.

Okay, you made a decision. Great. How's it going? You don't have to blame yourself if it didn't turn out as planned. But think what can be done better next time you are in a similar situation. Think.

Review & revise is imperative! Whether you feeling emotional or BAU mode. Data based informed decisions are most likely to succeed. However, if we review, it will make us more accurate in the future. If we can make machine intelligent by ML, so could be about our own decisions. We should never shy-away from accepting the revising the decision. If it's not the best, revise and make it best!

- Pause & Acknowledge the emotion - Do not make any decision for now - Defer / Delay - Write down the facts - Ask for a different perspective - Consider past experience - Use logical tools for decision, ie SWOT

The devil is in the details. How true!! The time you invest in checking and tracking will have a favorable impact on what you planned and what you are carrying out. Additionally, It will be a training plan for what you will do next. This analytic overview habit is a lifesaver and a saving policy. It is very common to come to a conclusion and not pay attention to what comes after. Should you have done things paying due attention to procedures and functioning would have brought a better output and effectiveness. Do not leave this for businesses, but for your out-of-office life as well. Think twice, do once.

- write down what you're feeling and reread it hours later - record what you feel and listen to it later - Answer 5 times why you feel the way you do.

Sometimes we have to move forward and make decisions of regardless of how emotional we are. And it's tough. And it's easy to criticize our own decision later on, when you have a clear mind and more time to analyze. However, keep remind yourself that you made the best possible decision at that given time, based on the available information. So, don't be hard on you.

Practice self-compassion in decision-making: 1. Awareness: Acknowledge emotions without judgment. 2. Kind Self-Talk: Speak to yourself as a supportive friend. 3. Common Humanity: Recognize that mistakes are universal. 4. Mindfulness: Stay present to reduce emotional intensity. 5. Validate Feelings: Accept and validate emotions without suppression. 6. Pause and Breathe: Deep breaths create space between emotions and decisions. 7. Learn from Mistakes: View errors as opportunities for growth. 8. Set Realistic Expectations: Aim for achievable goals. 9. Self-Care: Prioritize well-being for a clear decision-making mind. 10. Positive Affirmations: Boost confidence with affirmations.

A lot of comments here are meant for self-improvement. But one shouldn't forget that bulk of dissonance at work arises from different people, with different cultural and professonal backgrounds, working for the same objectives. I'd add to this by saying that at senior levels, team building and fostering camaraderie is far more important because if some play more to personal objectives over organizational objectives, the Firm can not succeed as well as it should. We should never forget the FIRM comes first.

Everyone can be afraid of picking the wrong choice. So you just need to make sure how you can make the right one by analyzing the current facts wisely. So take a second to analyze your emotions so you can better manage them. Our feelings are a huge part of who we are, but they don’t have to control us. Once you have a better grasp of your mind and body, you’ll have less regrets about the decisions you make. It's all about the mindset and the courage you need to put in.

Fails or errors may be only the other side of the opportunity. There are great lessons from fails. I have already learned a lot from my errors and also from great leaders. It is a matter of perspective of the opportunity behind apparent mistakes! I have already launched products with not accurate value proposition to wrong segments. Adjusting the mistakes has led to unexpected better result. Leadership is an exercise of humble ... it is a matter of accepting my error, analyze and shift the direction to set a new approach.

Once you are aware that you are about to make an emotional decision, you need to step back. What works best for me is to visualize the entire situation as if it were a movie and I'm watching the movie. Here, you will find yourself more detached to the people, situation, outcome of the decision. Only then can you step into making a rational decision.

Developing Emotional Intelligence allows us to manage our own emotions as well as determine the emotions of people around us, which drives our emotional conduct. 1. Mindful Self-Reflection: People with high emotional intelligence are more self-aware and can identify and comprehend their own feelings. 2. Stress-Resilient Decision-Making: People with emotional intelligence are able to successfully control their emotions, which keeps them from becoming overwhelmed by stress. Even under difficult and stressful circumstances, people may make judgements with a clear and reasonable thinking by remaining collected.

I feel that there a lot of positive emotions and do not focus on the negative emotions, for example, I have displayed all of these emotions: Astonishment, Alert, Active, Attentive, Calm, Content, Delight, Determined, Enthusiastic, Excitement, Focused, Happiness, Interested, Inspired, Proud, Pleased, Relaxed, Relentless, Satisfied, Strong to name a few. And they have been more effective in making good decisions than poor decisions so why would anyone display negative emotions.

I was once in a situation where someone questioned my ability to do something so much I let my emotions drive the outcome. I pushed extra hard to achieve what they said I couldn't and shoved it in their face afterwards for ever doubting me. The problem appeared soon after I had surpassed their expectations. I immediately felt empty and embarrassed. Upon reflection, I knew I had allowed their opinion to influence my behaviour. This meant they controlled the narrative and I was the puppet on strings. This inherent loss of power was enough for me to never want to feel like that again. Since then, I learnt to step back and accept that anything reactionary is often the ego trying to protect my insecurities.

It's always about a choice, it depends so much on the kind of thought you choose, there will be multiple scenarios of a situation in our mind, the thought that we choose decides our emotional state afterwards. So, I always choose a happy/positive/good thought whenever possible to be in a good emotional state.