Episode 94: 7 REASONS WHY EMOTIONS SHOULD NOT CONTROL YOUR DECISIONS

If you're like me, you might sometimes allow emotions to control your decisions for various reasons. It's important to recognize that emotions are a natural and essential part of life.

While they can sometimes lead to biased or irrational decisions, they can also provide valuable insights and motivation.

Developing healthy emotions and learning to balance them with rational thinking can help make more informed and balanced decisions. But...letting emotions control your decisions can sometimes lead to impulsive or irrational choices.

In today's episode, I share seven reason why you should not allow emotions to control your decisions. Please listen in to the seven reasons that resonate with me the most.

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Hi friends, I'm Laura, andwelcome to my podcast, Her Journey Towards
Change. This is a faith basedlife coaching podcast for women who, like
me, are on a journey tolive the best life possible. And then
something happens, something unforeseen, andeverything changes. Life feels foreign and you
feel stuck and it's difficult to moveforward and reaching out can be hard.

(00:29):
Right. Believe me, I knowif this is you, this podcast is
for you. I don't claim tohave all the answers, but I know
who does. God wants more forus, for you and for me.
You are created to live your bestlife, So I hope you will go
on this journey with me to amore positive perspective and take those hard steps

(00:52):
together through Her Journey Towards Change.Together, let's break through the barriers which
are holding us back from achieving whatGod has called us to be. So
let's go, and I hope youwill go on this journey with me.

(01:15):
Well, hello everyone, and welcomeback to the podcast. You are listening
to Her Journey Towards Change life coachingpodcast, and I am Laura, your
host, and I'm so glad thatyou are here today. Today is September
the fourteenth of twenty twenty three,and we are almost into the Fall season,

(01:37):
nine days away until my favorite seasonis here. Fall is my favorite,
and I'll tell you why. Ijust love the beauty of it.
I love the colors. I lovethe way it makes me feel. I
love the scent I love I lovethe fashion of Fall. I love everything
about it. The bonfires, thefootball, the boots, the scarves,

(02:02):
the you name it. There's nothingabout Fall that I don't like. I
think that Fall can show how beautifulit can be to let things go and
go through a struggle and then youstart fresh with the new beginning. And
I love the way that God madethe four seasons that everyone that ends they

(02:27):
have a struggle in the middle ofeach and then they start fresh and new.
And I think that that is sobeautiful for us to be able to
do that as well, because anytimewe can go through a struggle, we
learn from it, We let goof something, it becomes dull and sometimes
dead, and then we can movethrough it and start over and something beautiful

(02:52):
comes out of that. And thatrequires growth, and I think Fall teaches
us how to go through that struggleand grow, and then there's something beautiful
about releasing. So that's the reasonI love Fall. I'm not sure if
that even makes sense, but thereyou go. That's the reason that Fall

(03:12):
has always been and I think alwaysbeen. It will be my favorite season.
So today's episode is number ninety four, and I'm calling it. Seven
reasons why emotions should not control yourdecisions. Seven reasons why emotions should not

(03:35):
control your decisions. And if you'relike me, you might sometimes allow emotions
to control your decisions for many reasons. I think emotions are fundamental, for
their fundamental, a part of whowe are. It's who God made us.
It's part of who God made us. And I think it's important to

(03:57):
recognize that emotions are a natural andessential part of life. And while they
yes, can sometimes lead to biasedor irrational decisions, they can also provide
valuable insights in motivation. And Ithink developing healthy emotions and learning to balance
them with rational thinking can help makemore informed and balanced decisions. So I

(04:27):
also believe, though, that lettingemotions control your decisions can sometimes lead to
impulsive or irrational choices. Yep,they can, and I think here are
seven reasons why it's important not tolet emotions dominate your decision making. And

(04:47):
I know there are probably way morethan seven, but these are the seven
that I'm learning through, that I'velearned from my mistakes, and these are
the ones that I'm more aware of. In number one, it's impulsivity.
And let me explain that, Ithink that emotional decisions can lead to impulsive

(05:10):
actions without even considering the long termconsequences or the different alternative solutions that we
may have. For instance, whenyou're feeling stressed or upset, you might
make impulsive purchases to temporarily feel better. Has anyone ever done that? These

(05:31):
emotional spending decisions, I think canlead to financial regrets when you realize you've
overspent or bought something you didn't reallyneed. Or how about during a heated
argument, letting anger or frustration controlyour responses, I think can lead to

(05:55):
impulsive and hurtful words or actions.I mean this one digs deep for me.
Guilty as charged for that one.I think these emotional outbursts can damage
relationships, and I think it canhave long lasting consequences. So that number
one is a big one to me. On number two, bias, and

(06:19):
what I mean by that is,I think emotions can cloud judgment and lead
to bias thinking, making it difficultto objectively evaluate a situation. For instance,
many of us, the majority ofus, are on social media.

(06:40):
We make posts, we comment,and I think bias and emotions emotions often
influence what people post. And Ithink that when you comment on social media
platforms, there can be a bias. Emotions like anger or frustration, I
think can lead to people making offensiveremarks without even considering the consequences of what

(07:05):
can happen. And I think biascan also shape the content people engage with
or share when they're on social media, and I think this can lead to
polarized discussions, and I think it'sa lack of constructive dialogue on an important

(07:27):
topics and issues, and I thinkit can be driven by emotional reactions and
biases. So that one, Ithink is also very important. Number three,
One of the reasons why emotions shouldnot control your decisions is its inaccuracy.

(07:47):
I think that the same. Ithink that strong emotions can distort your
perception of reality, and I thinkit can cause cas you to misinterpret information
or make inaccurate assumptions. And that'sjust how it is. That's so true.

(08:11):
I've been there, done that.For instance, during emotional family disputes
or conflicts, we may we mayrecall past events with very significant inaccuracies,
and that will cause emotions like angerand resentment or sadness to color our memory

(08:35):
in leading to distorted recollections of whatactually happened. And I think these emotional
decisions and how we remember events cancontribute to ongoing family conflicts and misunderstandings,
and it makes it challenging to resolvethese disputes. So that's a big one

(08:58):
as well number for I think itcauses regret, and I mean decisions driven
solely by emotions may result in regretlater when you realize they were not well
thought out. For example, emotionaldecisions can cause regret because they often don't

(09:22):
involve thrill evaluation for different options.I think that when emotions drive decision making,
individuals may not explore different possibilities orconsider the possible benefits of different choices,
so they make these decisions and intime if subsequently, they may regret

(09:48):
it and not taking the time tomake a more informed decision with the broader
perspective. And I think emotions areoften transient in making decision based on fleeting
emotions can lead to regret when theseemotions change. For example, deciding to
end a relationship in the middle ofa heated argument. That can be very

(10:13):
regrettable, especially when later your emotionsare calmer and you return to more manageable
emotions and then you realize decision wasmade impulse, lovely, and without considering
the overall relationship. And I thinkthis highlights how emotional decisions can fail to

(10:35):
account for the long term impact ofour choices. That's a big one.
Number five being unpredictable. I thinkemotions can be fleeting and changeable, so
relying on them for decisions may leadto inconsistent choices, the choices I can't

(10:56):
talk today. Emotions, I thinkare highly personal and subjective, and when
what one person feels intensely about maynot affect someone else the same way,
and it can lead to unpredictable thingsthat will be said or happen in a

(11:16):
group setting, or when multiple individualsare involved in a decision making process and
they may not share the same emotionalreactions or priorities. And I can see
this happening a lot, maybe atwork, maybe at work, or when
you're working on a project together withothers or in church, even when you're

(11:43):
working together closely with other people ina group of church. So I think
that when is also very important.Number six conflict in relationships. I think
that emo driven decisions can It candefinitely strain relationships as they may be based

(12:05):
on anger or jealousy or resentment ratherthan mutual understanding. Like I said before,
and the heat of an emotional moment, I think we may be able
to become impulsive in decision making andwe hurt people's feelings. And these emotionally

(12:28):
driven outbursts can lead to damage inthe relationship, and it can damage the
trust, and it can cause scarringand hard for the relationship to heal.
And I think it also emotionally baseddecisions, particularly those stemming from jealousy and

(12:48):
insecurity, can hinder relationships. Theseemotional reactions can strain trust and lead to
conflict within the relationship ship and overtime, unchecked jealousy insecurity can create an
unhealthy dynamic that hinders the growth andstability of the relationships. So conflict in

(13:13):
relationships is another one of why youshould not let your emotions control your decisions.
And the last one but not theleast is number seven Missed opportunities.
I think making decisions purely based onemotions may cause you to overlook valuable opportunities

(13:35):
or neglect important responsibilities. And forinstance, like choosing a career, a
person might decide to follow a careerpath that their family expects or emotionally pressures
them to do, even if itdoesn't align with their personal interests. This

(13:58):
emotionally driven decision to prioritize family familyexpectations over personal goals, I think can
lead to missed opportunities for fulfilling yourown talents and your own passions of what
you want for a career. Andthat happens many times. I think is

(14:20):
more than what we more than whatwe want to talk about maybe, and
then later in life people wish thatthey had chosen a different career. And
sometimes that happens when you start outin college and you think you're going to
major in one thing and you realize, no, I don't want to do
that, and you end up majoringin something else. And it's all based

(14:45):
on, you know, some ofyour emotions when you're going into college.
I think while emotions provide valuable insights, it's crucial to balance them with rational
thinking. And I think it toconsider the bigger picture when making the significant
changes that you want to make.And you know, I'm hoping that these

(15:11):
seven were able to these seven points, we're able to be helpful for you.
And you know, I hope that. I think that if we trust
in the Lord with all your heartand do not lean on your own understanding,
which comes from the Bible Proverbs threeto five, I think that is

(15:33):
something that we need to take toheart. It says trust in the Lord
with your heart, and do notlean on your own understanding. And then
Jeremiah seventeen nine. I've never seenthis passage before in any of the times
that I've opened my Bible or read. I've just never noticed the scripture.

(15:56):
And it says, the heart isdeceitful above all things and desperately sick.
Who can understand it? I mean, I don't think i've ever read this
verse before. Read it again.The heart is deceitful above all things and
desperately sick. Who can understand it? And that is to the point,

(16:19):
you can't understand it. The onlyone that can really understand our heart is
God. And I think our heartsand emotions can not be trusted for one
important reason. Our emotions are alwayschanging and never the same, and feelings
are inconsistent because we're flawed people.We're flawed, that's just who we are.

(16:41):
And when we're flawed, our emotionscan be flawed. So our emotions
cannot be trusted when we're making importantdecisions. But you know what, God
is always the same, He's neverchanging. God is unchanging in his character,
he's unchanging in his will, andhe is unchanging in his promises.

(17:07):
And I am hoping that this hasbeen helpful for you, and I'm really
hoping that some of it, orany of it or all of it has
resonated with you. And if youwant to follow any more of my encouraging
words, you can follow me onInstagram. I'm at Laura Conrad Life Coach

(17:29):
or at her Journey towards Change dotcom my website, or you can find
me on Facebook at her Journey towardsChange life Coaching. And if you think
that this episode was encouraging and youwould like to talk about life changes for
the positive in your future, youcan reach me at Laura at Laura Conrad

(17:52):
Christian lifecoach dot com. That's myemail or my number is eight six five
to eight one, twelve eighty one. And I'm so glad that you were
here today, and I'm so soglad that God has given me this opportunity
to be able to share this message. And until next time, talk soon,