How to Make Better Choices With Recognition
Learn to Choose Between Conscious and Unconscious Options
Jul 8, 2009
Making better choices usually involves more than just being aware of your role in the process. While understanding that you alone are responsible for the choices you make is vital, knowing the differences between the options is also important.
Emotions Role in Decision Making
Emotions always try to steer you in one direction regardless of the intensity of the situation. Seemingly unconscious, emotional decision making often ends up leading you down a path that is only full of more problems.
Since your subconscious wants to protect you from harm, emotions drive and push you towards the emotionally satisfying solution without paying any attention to whether or not it is the best and most logical choice.
Recognizing Emotional Choices
People that allow their emotions to steer them find that there is little time to consider any other option. Focusing on learning to recognize and consider both options will help you to make better choices.
Emotional choices:
- Are typically paired with an intense feeling or prospect of a better emotion.
- Cannot provide a rational or logical answer to the question, "Why this choice?"
- Are almost always the easier choice.
Once you have learned to recognize the emotional option you can focus in on understanding the choice being made by your mind.
Logic-Based Decision Making
Choices put forth by the conscious mind are often overlooked or ignored because of their unrewarding nature. The choice that your brain tells you is right usually is, although most people ignore it and instead go with the choice based on how they feel about a situation. In the end, it is usually easier to take the emotional option. If you want to make better choices in life you will need to be able to concentrate on the conscious option in your mind.
Recognizing the Intelligent Choice
Listening to the little voice in your head may be difficult when you are feeling emotional about something, but if you put in the time and effort to give it a chance you will quickly find yourself making better choices in life.
Logical choices:
- Are usually not paired with any particular emotion except for apprehension.
- Provide a clear informed answer to the question, "Why this choice?"
- Are almost always the harder option emotionally.
Once you are able to fully recognize the two options before you making a better choice should be easier. Sticking to your guns and not giving in to the underlying feelings will prove to be far more rewarding for you in the long run.
Readers may also enjoy How to Make Better Choices Using Awareness.
Source:
- Hammond J., Keeney R., Raiffa H., Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions (New York, 2002).
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