Emotional decisions and rational decisions: is there a difference?

Emotional decisions and rational or logical decisions… Is there such a difference between the two? Often, we tell ourselves that there are things that are better to decide with a cool head and not with our heart, thinking that, by doing so, we will make the right choice. It is as if we had to deal daily with two mental perspectives capable of completely mediating our reality.

In some ways it is. No one acts or decides only through their emotions or through the exclusive filter composed of the coldest, most objective and reasonable logic.. Our brain, in reality, is a hyperconnected organ, where every area and structure has a link with the others.

So, the prefrontal cortex (linked to the most complex executive functions, based on analysis, attention or reflection) maintains a constant connection with those deeper areas of the brain related to emotions. Therefore, the world of affections and feelings is present in each decision and, in turn, in each meditated and reasoned choice there is the imprint of emotions.

Now, despite the existence of that bridge where the information between one sphere and another is constant, there is a particularity that we cannot ignore. Emotions always take priority. The human being is, above all, an emotional creature and that puts us at more than one crossroads.

Emotional decisions and rational decisions

Emotional decisions get bad press. It is as if, by letting ourselves be carried away by that first impulse, by necessity (supposedly unreasoned) or by intuition, we are led to error. However, and as ironic as it may seem to us, a large part of the choices we make in our daily lives are mediated by them, by those emotions that guide us and almost completely mediate our behavior.

Let’s admit it, acting motivated by them does not necessarily lead us to error. Emotions are catalysts in our relationships, they push us to connect with people and they also allow us to make choices in different areas so that tastes, personality and needs are in tune.

Emotions, after all, only want our homeostasis, to guarantee our internal balance and of course, our survival.

What’s more, there is already a trend in the academic world that invites us to correct a false idea. The one where emotional decisions are related as irrational acts.

Studies, such as those carried out at Columbia University by Dr. Michel Puan, tell us that we must stop conceiving the emotional and the rational separately. In other words, Emotions can also be logical and rational.

Now, there are clear and obvious exceptions. There are times when we make decisions based on adverse emotional states.. They are those moments in which there is no internal homeostasis, but rather an unresolved problem, a need, an unmet lack that leads us to make wrong choices. Let’s dig deeper.

Emotional states that will lead you to make decisions that you may regret

We must be clear: The best decisions are made when we combine logic and emotion. Thus, and for this pact between one and the other to be carried out effectively, we need our emotions to be in our favor. But this does not always happen because there are states that limit us, that limit our mental focus. They are the following.

The sadness. If you make a decision while sad, dull or melancholic, it will make you settle for the minimum, not be demanding of yourself.The Excitement. When we feel injected with joy, overflowing enthusiasm, excited with emotion, we don’t usually make good decisions either. Generally, we let ourselves be carried away by impulsivity. Anxiety. Anxiety, stress, as well as any mood disorder, hinder our ability to make decisions.. Not only do we make decisions that we may later regret, but it also makes it harder for us to think, evaluate, reflect, etc.

Emotional decisions made with logic and reason are the most accurate

As the renowned scientist Antonio Damasio points out, emotions are not located on the shadow side of reason.. These, in reality, are an indispensable part of every decision we make and, therefore, we must be fully aware of them.

If we understand them, if we manage them, if we face their challenges in those times of discouragement or worry, they will be our best allies.

Decisions are the beats that trace our paths. It is true that some will be more wrong and others more right, but the most important thing of all is not to act impulsively. It is tuning needs with desires, experience with intuition. Emotion and reason can never go separately, they are the engines that can bring us closer to our happiness.

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