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The impact of emotions on decision-making
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All my life I have been taught to think before I act, in order to prevent myself from making a mistake. Yet, I have learned through my many errors in life not to duplicate my unfortunate actions. Many times I have been told to consider the consequences of my actions prior to acting. I have found, though, that this may not always be the best approach. I would not argue this to be true in every situation, however. What is to be said, for example, of those who have acted on their emotions, only to find themselves in prison? One must be able to know instinctively which situations are appropriate to be dealt with solely on emotions, and which are to require a certain amount of development. Nevertheless, as von Kleist states, in “On Thinking Things Over: A Paradox”, the proper time to reflect on an action is after the act has occurred.
Life is constantly throwing curveballs. They come from every angle, at differing speeds and all make diverse, lasting impacts. Yet, no matter how many are thrown in our direction, one may never be able to know when or from where the next is coming. Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, once said that “Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forward.” Meaning that, much like the curveballs, there is no way to understand what life will throw at us in the future, yet we must learn based on the experiences that have occurred in our past. For instance, when one becomes aware of the fact that a curveball is in their near future, and is ready to throw them off course, there is no time to think of what steps to take in order to get out of harm’s way. One must act solely on instinct, while simultaneously thinking through the process. We must then continue to think it over after the ac...
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...ountries, then, result in war? If life were merely a contest with fate, then should we not think before we act? Though some may argue that the proper time to reflect is before acting, I have learned from experience that, more times than not, this is not the best approach. The ability to act on instinct is crucial to success, in many situations. During an earthquake, for instance, one must quickly respond in whichever ways necessary to protect themselves, as well as their loved ones. No matter how prepared, or trained, one may be, there is no way to predict what the essential motions should be taken in the time of an emergency. Although we are born with some instincts, other, more specified, ones can be developed through experience and training. In any situation instincts can be good or bad in the outcome, but this is the foundation of how we learn: experience.
nature, and what is true of nature is true of action, if nothing prevents it. Now actions are
The balance between fear and foresight is a necessary component for an individual to maintain a healthy lifestyle, an imbalance of these components can potentially put people in difficult situations as it relates to their survival. Fear can be a humbling experience when it is not balanced with foresight, the nuances of that particular experience instills a subconscious thought in an individual that resonates with fear, in terms of people realizing their mistakes and making the necessary adjustments in life.
Tests and decisions are as numerous in any man's life as are the beats of his heart. The consequences follow him forever - he is judged by them and they affect his entire existence. However, judgement should not be passed on a man's single decisions individually, but only by observing how he has chosen to live his life.
Richard Connells “The Most Dangerous Game” is a short story which illustrates that calm analytical thinking can increase your odds of survival and controlling panic.
When you have natural instincts for something, it makes that task easier than for someone who doesn't have the same instincts. There was a good part of Wolfe's book that described how instincts led to Gordon Cooper being selected into the Mercury Program. It was when he was doing the initial interview sessions when the "NASA psychologists were asking candidates about their family lives, Cooper was able to sense the correct answers and describe his family life as terrific, when in fact they were separated". Cooper's natural people person instincts helped him recognize what this line of questioning was about, kept him in the running for an astronaut position-which he later received-and was able to reconcile with his wife so they looked like the model family.
It’s hard to believe how making one decision can impact and shape your life for the future. According to Google, decision-making is the action or process of making decisions, especially important ones. While discussing this important topic, decision-making, I’ve come across some things I’ve learned and how they can impact my life. First, impulsive decisions can lead to bad outcomes. In the short story, The Monkey’s Paw, by W.W. Jacobs, the story is based around the idea; think more about a decision than quickly resolving one. Secondly, deciding to run away from your problems can lead to an even greater one. In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Masque of the Red Death, the characters are faced with a problem, but when they believe it has been resolved it turns out to be deadlier than
Even though history provides us with numerous situations that become worse, because of hasty actions, everyday life lends us with an infinitely greater number. Many times a snap at a brother or a disrespectful reply, has an equally negative impact. While these seemingly harmful acts do not necessarily happen on purpose, they come as a result of instinctive decisions from within the heart. In fact, each of us commit these hasty decisions, and, as a result, we often disrupt the relationships that matter the
“It just barely missed me, but in my place it swallowed everything that mattered most to me and swept it off to another world. I took years to find it again and to recover from the experience-precious years that can never be replaced” (133). Individuals who find themselves in life or death situations experience a spectrum of factors that play into the aftermath, including, mental, moral, and costly forms of accountability. The decisions individuals are forced to make in order to survive is what causes this accountability. Therefore, individuals should not be held responsible for their decisions when in survival situations.
Effective decision making is typically thought about as being a logical cognitively driven process. Contemporary research on decision making have acknowledged the influence of motivation and emotion on decision making. When emotion and motivation impact a short term decision in a way that is contradictory to a long term logical goal, decision errors or negative outcomes can occur. We all allow these emotions and motivational influences to affect our short term decisions from time to time. When positive outcomes result from these biased short term decisions, it can reinforce the use of emotion and motivational influence as an effective decision making tool. This essay will use personal examples of emotional and motivationally influenced decisions that initially provided positive outcomes, then in subsequent
TICE, D.M., BRATSLAVSKY, E., and BAUMEISTER, F., 2001. Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: If you feel bad, do It!, Journal of personality and social psychology, 80, pp.53-67.
There are two kinds of people in the world; the ones that believe that the consequences of an action outweigh the importance of intention, and those that feel that intentions are all that matter. Consequences are measurable outcomes that are a direct result of our actions. Intentions are the thoughts behind a person’s actions. They are the reason that a person chooses to do something. Consequences and intentions both correlate with action. Intention comes before the action itself, and consequences are yielded once the action is complete. In general consequences are thought of as negative, while intentions are typically considered in a positive sense. However, this paper will explain why consequences are more important to consider than one’s
Not every event has a guaranteed outcome- sometimes, one has to take a gamble in the game of life. There are some, however, who would prefer to travel within the safe, confined lane of actions with a definite outcome. Deciding whether or not to take risks in life can be tricky, but as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” This quote means that people should take risks in their endeavors, because life is precisely about trying new things and experiences. As the quote explains, taking risks in life is a vital step to success, fulfillment, and gaining more out of experiences.
Emotions play a role in everyday life in all things big or small, but particularly in making decisions. When an individual is deciding on what to do, they take into account what their expected emotions would be, but the determining factor is the immediate emotions they feel while making the decision. With expected emotions, an individual will think about how happy or upset they may feel for instance if they win a monetary cash prize, or gamble too much and walk away with nothing. Often ...
It is also vital to get a grip of the situation besides being able to identify and recognise emotion. When one is able to take control of the situation, they will be able to reflect on the situation without acting impulsively. Different people react differently to the same situations. This is due to different experiences, varied cultural background or different level of
We make choices every hour, every minute, and every second of our lives; whether big or small our choices are slowly putting us in the direction we choose or end up. Many of us do not realize what contributes to the choices we make and why it affects others the same way if affects us and because of this many authors and writers have written stories and articles about coming to terms with making a choice and how to better ourselves when it comes to decision-making for the future.