Chinkee Tan
Have you ever made a decision that you now regret making, and perhaps you are now reaping the consequences of it?
Did you make that decision when you were in the midst of depression, anger, fear or envy? Was this decision made out of the pull of your emotions?
“I am so mad at you right now. I hate you. I don’t want this marriage anymore!”
“I am so fed up with all the workload. I give up. I’m really going to resign!”
“I’m better off leaving, anyway no one appreciates my efforts around here!”
“Argh! I can’t wait for the go signal of Boss! He’s so slow! I’m just gonna go ahead with the project.”
We are created as emotional beings, so we cannot avoid the different emotional responses that arise in us especially with all the external sources that surround us.
It is but normal to get angry, to be annoyed or to feel sad.
It only becomes dangerous when we make decisions, especially major ones, when we are in the midst of or at the peak of experiencing these EMOTIONS. More often than not, the decisions we make at this point are the wrong ones and we end up deeply regretting it.
Why should we NOT make a decision when we are in an emotional state?
- 90% OF THE DECISION IS GOING TO BE WRONG
As I have mentioned earlier, since you are in a very emotional state at that moment, your ability to think clearly is clouded. So whatever comes out of your mind is irrational.
Does this surprise you? Think back. You didn’t plan or think about the decision thus you end up hurting other people too.
- YOU’LL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
There are decisions that you may not be able to retract or take back. There is no U-turn.
For example:
You were so mad at your spouse so your immediate response was to insist on parting ways with him or her, instead of talking it through. You later realized that it was just a misunderstanding.
You resigned from your job because you felt that you were being overworked, without realizing that it was just a test for a possible promotion.
You decided to drop out of school just because you were afraid that you would get kicked out this semester. You didn’t graduate so now you are finding it really hard to find a job.
How can you turn back the clock?
How can you retract what you have said?
How can you patch up a wounded spirit?
- IT BECOMES A HABIT
When we get used to adding one mistake on top of another, it becomes automatic for us to let our emotions decide for us.
How?
You already made a wrong decision the first time, so it didn’t turn out well. You get so mad because of this, and then you go ahead and make another move – another decision – to cover up the wrong one. This just brings you back to square one – making a decision based on emotion.
THINK. REFLECT. APPLY
What wrong decisions have you made when you were emotional?
How can you take it back?
How do you plan to change so that you don’t do this again?
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