“When you feel the rise of unpleasant emotions, take a moment and make an effort to identify their source. The answers are far more available than you may have previously believed. Accept such feelings as your own in the moment. Do not shove them underneath, ignore them or try to substitute what you think of as good thoughts.”— Jane Roberts, Seth, “The Nature of Personal Reality”
I never took the time to stop and think about how my emotions have affected some of the decisions that I have made in my life. I can look back and honestly say that Integral immediate emotions which “are emotions that are associated with the act of making a decision” (Goldstein, 377) have affected some of my decision making. For example, when I had to make a big decision about putting my grandmother on hospice care I had experienced immediate emotions such as anxiety, trepidation and helplessness. These emotions were Integral emotions associated with having to make that tough decision. On a lighter note, having to make a decision about which outfit I was going to wear to my graduation from CCP brought on Integral immediate emotions of happiness, joy and excitement.
Usually I don’t notice the Integral immediate emotions that I may be experiencing while having to make a decision unless the decision is very important. Most of the time I’m usually trying not to think about my emotions and how I feel about a particular outcome. Often times when it comes to expected emotions (“emotions that people predict they will feel for a particular outcome” (Goldstein, 377) I have found that “a positive emotion will likely be a good outcome and one that results in a negative emotion will likely be a poor outcome” (Lowenstein et al., 2003; Wilson & Gilbert, 2003). For example, this July I had to take my PA Cosmetologist State Board theory exam. I had prepared for this exam throughout my whole time in Cosmetology School so I was already thinking about how happy and proud I would feel if I actually passed the exam. This positive emotion was followed by a good outcome because I passed the exam. In another instance, one day while driving to work in traffic I was thinking about how mad I would feel if I was late for work. Unfortunately, the outcome was that I was late for work and absolutely correct on my predicted emotion.
Looking back I have always assumed that my emotions have little association with my outcomes and decision making. Therefore, learning about the different kinds of emotions and the affects they can have on decision making and outcomes has made me realize that I should pay more attention to my emotions especially the negative and less positive emotions.
Works Cited
Goldstein, Bruce. “Introduction to Cognitive Psychology.” Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience. Third Edition ed. Belmont, CA 94002-3098: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011. Page 377. Print.
Quote taken from http://www.tumblr.com/search/psychology%20of%20emotion