Thinking Clearly

Good decisions aren’t entirely logical, but they are also not overly emotional. The best balance tends to be more on the thoughtful side versus rational. Have you ever looked back at a decision and wondered, “What was I thinking?” Your decision-making and find itself in a dense fog of emotions that can cloud your judgment. Consider four emotions that can significantly influence your mind:

Anger. Seldom does anger result in clear thinking. Instead this rise in emotion can distort the truth and even destroy integrity. Anger can manifest from past experience, from frustration at present circumstances, from behavior learned from others, and from lack of problem-solving ability. Anger is not a universal response—we all know people who get angry easily, as well as people who rarely if ever get angry. 

Anger can result in quick or aggressive behavior, hostility, defensiveness, or annoyance. It can result in personal attacks or verbal abuse, threats on other people’s needs, or a decrease in others’ tolerance of frustration. Perhaps the most dangerous result of anger can be a tendency to attack others’ opinions or ideas rather than properly considering them on the merits. 

Scripture says, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly” (Proverbs 14:29). In decision-making, anger can cause you to simply brush by or overlook a solution because of high stress, pain or irritation. When you’re angry, calm down first, before making an important decision. 

Sadness. A commonly experienced emotion, sadness too can impact your mind profoundly. While anger tends to be short-lived, sadness can last for hours, days, months. We can experience sadness when we experience loss, when someone or some circumstance disappoints us, or when we are lonely, depressed or distressed.

While depression is a sadness that persists and which you have difficulty getting over, sadness can cause issues in the short-term. You might feel empty or hopeless. You may have guilt over something. Sadness can result in insomnia, eating too much or too little, or increased sensitivity to pain. Sadness can also result in cognitive changes, such as trouble focusing or remembering. This can cause difficulty making decisions.

The Bible says, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Sadness has a direct spiritual answer, which is to remember and trust God in all situations. When you are sad, pray, and trust God in place of being discouraged.

Excitement. Negative emotions can cloud your thinking, but overly-positive emotions can also make it difficult to make decisions. Excitement most often affects the speed at which you make a decision. You may be more likely to jump to a conclusion without considering the implications. Or you may allow optimism to affect your judgment about a possible negative or lesser outcome. Proverbs 19:2 says, “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” Through the Proverbs we see many instructions to avoid being in a rush and to be careful in our consideration.

While excitement and enthusiasm can be helpful, always take time to weigh decisions, especially ones that affect long term outcomes or many people. Even if you have a strong inclination in an important decision, force yourself to wait for consideration. “Sleep on it” for a night or two. Another helpful tool when finding yourself very enthused is to consult wise counsel to ensure your thinking is unbiased and well considered. 

Anxiety. When you worry about a decision, the stress can often lead you to make the choice that is the least risky, regardless of other possible outcomes. Anxiety makes you think about everything that could go wrong. You may put off decision-making altogether. Nervous people also tend to keep their thoughts to themselves, and miss out on the counsel and support of others.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Jesus clearly equates worry with a lack of spiritual direction. If you lack Christ, you lack the assurance that a strong spiritual foundation in your life brings. Because in Christ you really have nothing to fear.

The ready solution for anxiety—and really this is true of all strong emotions—is to put your leadership into the hands of God, and by prayer and through Scripture, to allow Him to help you draw the right conclusions. In decisions you need not be overly-influenced or incapacitated by emotion. Rather, you can find help through God and the wise counsel of trusted friends to enable you to lead better. Calm down, not rush, avoid discouragement and mitigate worry, and lead wisely when you manage your emotions.