Emotions And Decision Making – Are You Too Attached To Outcomes?

At Technalink, we have definitely learned from our experiences, and while these lessons have an individual impact on personal growth, they also influence how we run our company and interact with others. Some of the most important lessons that we have gained are in regards to how emotions can alter perceptions, and how this can also change our decision making process.

One of the truly wonderful things about practicing mindfulness, at work and in personal affairs, is that it allows for objectivity in examining motivations. By stepping back and separating emotions from actuality, we can also see how the direction of a path shifts depending on these feelings.

An ideal way of conceptualizing this impact is to imagine that emotions are different lenses on a pair of glasses. When we are mindful and take emotion out of the decision making process, we can see the path clearly, and make informed choices that can lead to success. However, different emotions can represent as the wrong prescription lenses, or even glasses that are like a Viewfinder, where the image is projected, obscuring the honesty of the situation.

This comparison is also powerful for illustrating the manner that emotions and outcomes become attached. If we simply wore the Viewfinder glasses all the time, we may lose sight of where we are actually going, because we are trapped in the illusion of the emotion. What becomes obscured, however, is the full potential that is all around us, and which we can gain clarity on, as soon as we let go of the attachment to both emotion and outcomes.

This is not to say that we stop feeling, but rather that we acknowledge the emotions, observe the situation, and proceed with the knowledge of both. Before you can let go, you do have to validate what you are feeling, but this also empowers you to find the core of your motivation, and use that to guide your path, not your outcome. In choosing action that is not clouded by a temporary perspective, you also give yourself the permission to find your own way to success.