I would think that I'm a very indecisive person, so when it comes
down to an important decision that I have to make, I would
definitely have to hear all the details having to do with both sides
of the decision. I like to be well educated in my decisions so
that I know exactly what I'm getting myself into. When making a
decision I like to kind of run down the pros and cons of each
option fairly quickly as well as looking into the specific reasonable
outcomes to each decision made. The biggest decision I believe I've
had to make so far is when I decided to move out of my
parents house. I had just finished community college and was planning
to transfer to a four year college however I took a year off to
work so that I could save up some money. Even though my parents
still offered for me to live at home rent free as usual I felt I
needed to move out to mature more and to start gaining some
experience on my own. Looking back from a financial standpoint, no
I don't think I made the right decision because I could have been
saving on a lot of bills right now but, ultimately I believe it was
worth it so that I could understand what it is like to be independent.
There was not to much emotion in my decision, I'm not an emotional
guy, however there definitely was a lot of communication between my
parents and I so that we could both understand what was going on
which really helped us to all feel more comfortable with the decision.
At the time I'm battling moving with back with mom and buying
her house in the next 6 months as she relocate to a senior living
housing which I would love to keep my mom house but I don't
know if me and my family would be comfortable living with my
mom. I decided not to move with her about 3 months ago because,
I have been living on my own 15 years with my spouse and I
feel we are use to our privacy and space. I definitely felt the
decision I made was reasonable at the time because to me it would
be a hard transition that I personally wasn't ready for. Emotions
definitely played a part because I kept feeling like I was too old
to live with my mom even though it was going only be temporary
, also I thought I could just buy my own house it was all type
of feelings and thoughts at the time. I communicated with everybody
my mom , my spouse , and my son who loves to be at my
mom house , and everybody was for the move i just wasn't ready
at the time that's what has me revisiting the opportunity at this
present time. However I feel If I hadn't let my emotions get the
best of me I probably could be a smooth move and a prosper
future financially and I could be soon to a homeowner. When I
make important decisions I will usually weigh all of the options. I
use emotion as a final step to coming to some of the most
difficult decisions that are pretty balanced with the pros and cons.
Right now I am debating whether I should quit my current job and
start a better paying job but I am not guaranteed to get the
position. I am making enough to support myself and have a little
extra money for the things that I might want, but I am getting
tired of how my store manager and the owner want things to be
done. There are almost no benefits with my job, and there are
plenty of benefits with the other. The thing that is staying my hand
are the people that I work with, I don't want to leave them behind.
I know what the best solution is, but the risk is very high. I
have discussed this with some friends and I have been getting some
answers, but the response is really even between them. If I remove
emotion from the equation, I am sure that I would have applied
and started at the other job by now. For the most part, when
making a decision, I think logically about the situation. I've only
been influenced by emotion a couple of times and the situation that
sticks out the most was initially an emotional decision but it also
made sense when I later reassessed the situation without emotion so
my decision would not have changed.Growing up, I loved spending
time with my dad and didn't notice negative things about him. He
remarried when I was 10 years old and his new wife was deceitful,
manipulative, and terrible to me. I rarely saw my dad and when I
did, his wife didn't let us have a conversation alone. She spent
most of her time gossiping and stirring up trouble. Last year, she
told my dad something untrue about my wife and then he proceeded
to tell his whole side of the family. After letting my wife know
what was said, she was heartbroken.She didn't understand why anyone
would make up such a thing out of boredom (but I knew because
I have been dealing with it since I was a kid). It took my wife
months to heal from the damage to her reputation that my step-
mother had caused and she only felt better after my step-mother
confessed it was a fabricated story. My decision was to cut off my
dad (who I realized is equally as deceitful and manipulative) and his
side of the family. Since that decision last January, I have felt a
huge weight off of my shoulders. I realized that I needed to shed
the toxicity and be around people who were mentally healthy and
positive. Luckily, I have a beautiful wife, two kids, my mom, and
my wife's side of the family who are everything to me. One
example that I had to make while emotion was high was almost
three months ago before my grandmother passed away. She had been
in the hospital for 6 days before the doctors found out what was
wrong with her. Come to find out, she was diagnosed with kidney
cancer and didn’t have to much longer to live. They gave her one
week. As a person who was practically raised by this beautiful woman
and spent all my life with her and at the age of 16 being her
primary caretaker, there were some decisions that I had to make in
order to prepare for what was soon to come. That Saturday the
doctors came in and told us what was happening, but that Sunday
he told us that there was nothing else that could be done. So I
had to make the decisions on everything that needed to be done in
order to be ready for what was coming. I had to make a decision
on the hospice to send her to, I also had to make funeral
arrangements, and get all of the family together to let them know
that soon she would be passing and what all
I feel that each decision I made was reasonable and right because
I know that this is what my grandmother wanted. She didn’t want
her family to do anything big or extravagant. She wanted to make
sure that everybody was taken care of. She also didn’t want her
life to be extended if she was going to suffer or be a vegetable
and not be able to still do things for herself. Communication did
play a big role. My grandmother and I had always discussed these
things especially within the last few months before she passed. If we
had not done that I would have probably felt regret because I would
have felt that I missed so much time with her and I also wouldn’t
have known what to do in order to get things done and make
sure everyone got what she wanted them to have. An example of
when emotion influenced my decision-making would definitely be in my
personal relationships. I was in a past relationship that was destructive
and unhealthy. I had a lot of feelings about what the relationship
had been before and what it was now. Ultimately, I decided to end
this relationship. I think based upon what happened within the
relationship on the other person's side, the decision I made was
reasonable.
I think the main thing I considered in my decision was my emotions.
But, communication played a role as well since I was unable to
communicate effectively in order to resolve the issues in the relationship.
If I had removed emotion from my decision making I think I would
have stayed in the relationship instead of getting out of it. I think
this because everyone makes mistakes, so I would have probably leaned
towards giving them another chance. However, I think that in this
case giving this person another chance would have only given them
another chance to do the same hurtful things again. In cases of
personal relationships, I think that emotion plays a huge role in
making important decisions. My emotions helped me to see all points
of view to the situation and make a decision that was best for
me. This week discussion was on emotion and decision making, so
I decided to get out of the Army based on deployment or family.
I choose my family first because I didn't want my famiy to worry
anymore about myself and my son. In life sometimes you have to
make decisions simply because your life depends on it. I love and
adore my family but I also had a very strong like for the United
States Army. In life decisions have to be made for the best or
betterment of one's future. I choose to be stable for my son and
it was a hard decision mostly because of the time I invested and
the many days that I fought to stay in the United States Army,
my emotions have taken a major role and so has communication
through the entire challenge. I'm grateful that I made the choice to
come home and to learn more about my self and the culture of
the military, I will always respect the military but I choose to be
educated and grow. There have been situations throughout my professional
life in which I’ve allowed emotion to influence my critical thinking,
no doubt. Some of those decisions turned out to be just fine, no
real “deal-breakers” if you will. However, a few years ago two of
my employees were emotionally charged up over a situation that
occurred between them, leading to fairly aggressive behavior in front
of a high-profile customer. One in particular took the moral low-ground
in making numerous unprofessional comments in front of this particular
customer, attempting to damage the appearance of our organization. As
a manager, I needed to get in front of the situation of course,
but my approach should’ve been calm, cool, and collected. I should’ve
simply excused myself from the tour I was leading, and separated
the disgruntled employees, allowing for a cool-down period. Instead,
I immediately dismissed both employees from the workplace without
digesting the whole situation. No analyzing, no reflection.I was so
embarrassed in front of this customer and in shock of how
unprofessional these tenured employees were behaving. These particular
technicians were not only the most senior among the other 18 in
the shop, but extremely efficient, and usually exemplified a great
attitude. I should’ve pulled both employees aside (after separating each)
and interviewed each individually in order to gain a clearer understanding
of the situation. I allowed emotions to completely cloud my judgment
and cripple my ability to make a sound decision. The customer
was uncomfortable, and one of the technicians nearly resigned over the
situation.In the end, no lasting damage ensued. A learning moment for
sure, and a great opportunity for growth after some self-reflection.
Decision making is sometimes a hard thing for me to do. I am
a person that over thinks things and analyze and tries to see what
are the pros a conns of things before making my decision. For
example, trying to go back to school was a very hard decision to
make. I had lots of fear but mostly worried that I would not have
the time to dedicate to school. Fear and the worry of dedication I
had to apply almost made me not come back to finish what I
had started. I personally feel that if I had let those feels over
come my decision making,I would not be here today attending class.
Our emotions sometimes take over our decision making, depending on
how we want for it to go or if we are welling to over come
or emotions we will never know if the decision we made was the
correct one. Whenever I have to make a decision I consider what
the possible outcome will be before actually deciding on something.
I’m my personal life I am a young first time mom so a lot of
the decisions I make for myself and my daughter are normally always
driven my emotions. The biggest decision I’ve had to make recently
is a change in my career. I have to travel for work a lot and
it sometimes causes me to be away for the holidays. My emotions
played a big role in me choosing to stop working in the union
at nuclear plant s for a while because I was having detachment
issues. Ultimately I am taking a tremendous pay cut because my
emotions won’t allow me to be away from my daughter for a
month or longer at a time. I communicated these emotions to my
family that help look after my daughter and their response was
completely different from what initially decided to do. I think I had
remove do emotion from my decision making I would have made
the same decision. No job nor amount of money worth missing out
on the precious moments with family. I did have to do some critical
thinking with this decision because there was a lot that had to be
taken into consideration before making my final decision. I do feel
as though my decision was a reasonable one. In this instance I
don’t think that my emotions caused me to not think logically or
had a negative affect on my decision. I feel as if this whole year
was full of emotional decisions. Some worked out really well, and
others could have had a better result if emotion was not in the
decision. A decision I have made with emotion as the front guy on
the line was moving back to where I was from, Wisconsin, from
Arizona. After three years, I found myself becoming very homesick
and upset that I was missing out on everything that was happening
back home, but while still in Arizona, I was enjoying life, working
a great job, making good money, playing softball, traveling, hiking,
doing so much more than I could do if I was still in Wisconsin.
I started falling into the thought of "I need to move back home"
rather than thinking what I could do to compromise with the feeling
of homesick and enjoying the life I had in Arizona. Soon I found
myself flying back home every other week and I quickly and
irrationally decided to move back home. Emotion played as both feet
on the gas pedal, I don't believe the decision I made was
irresponsible, but I did not do a whole lot of thinking as to what
I could possibly try instead of making the full leap back. I believe
if I would have communicated with the people around me and my
family, and actually took in what they said rather than practiced
closed minded thinking, I would still be in Arizona, visiting them,
and the family visiting me. It is not something I regret by any
means because I have my own family of my fiancé and I, and
our new addition joining us around Christmas, but I do wonder where
I would be if I did end up staying down there. Maybe someday
we can start our book as a family down there. This is a recent
situation that comes to mind. My whole life I have been a caregiver
to someone, from my little sister, my children, my parents and now
my uncle. I also work in the medical field with the geriatric
population. When it comes to care giving it’s important to make good
decisions. I do my best to always do what’s best for the patient.
I expect the same when my family is the patient as well. Recently
uncle had symptoms of a UTI. I had him see the doctor. She had
the lab to check his urine had did a urine culture, which resulted
positive. She started him on an antibiotic. I gave it to him as
instructed. After a few days he became very hyper, agitated and
wasn’t sleeping. I followed up with the provider who instructed me
to continue the antibiotic, he was experiencing adverse effects from the
antibiotic and she assured me that it was normal. By the next
morning my uncle could not dress himself, very confused and seeing
things. That change came over night. I had to make an important
decision at that moment. My emotion was to do what was best for
him, regardless what the provider recommend. I called 911 and had
him taken to the hospital. Where he spent the next 7 weeks due
to being almost styptic. Then followed rehab for 3 weeks, (comes
home tomorrow) I have seen alot of UTIs, but never one that
changed someone from being independent to total care over night. I
work in the same office with the Dr. She has spent most of the
last 10 weeks giving me the silent treatment. So, I had a decision
to make, what is best for my uncle or what's more comfortable for
me. I chose my uncle's well being. I have filed a grievance and
she will no longer his Dr. Within a few days of arriving at rehab,
he suffered from edema in his feet and legs. I inquired about his
care or should I say lack thereof. I communicated with the nurse
and the CNA to start with. I would go every day, and they would
say he’s going to see the Dr, but no Dr ever called me. After
the first week and a half of excuses as to why his feet was
still swollen, I took a different route. I started asking other questions
to see what was in his chart. I find that he has not been seen
by a Dr or a nurse. I have communicated to the nursing staff
since the beginning, but no one is following up. I returned to the
facility after the night nurse came in. I inquired again about a Dr
coming to look at him. She said the Dr wasn’t coming. I then
demanded that she call the on-call provider and get him over here.
The nurse saw I was upset, she started looking in his chart to
see what she could tell me. She could not find anything to tell
me. She then called the Dr, he ordered labs and an ultrasound. She
came to back to his room to inform me of the plan. 10 mins
later the Dr was in the room. Apologizing for the fact he had
not been seen. After the results came in, they were all good.
Nothing was done about the swelling itself till this week, after I
had to meet with the administrator and the directing of nursing and
filed a grievance. It’s amazing how fast things changed. This was
a unique situation, my emotions where all over it. There were a
lot of decisions that I made. I do feel that despite my emotions
my decisions where reasonable ones. My emotions played a role in
my tone during this chain of events. Emotionally its been a nightmare.
Communication played a huge role. Communicating what was and wasn’t
happening with his care. If I had removed emotion from this situation,
the outcome would have been almost the same. I just would not
have been emotionally attached. There are several different levels to
decision-making in my opinion. My decision making will always have
a lot to do with the situation in front of me, the people that
may be involved, the severity of the situation and whom it can
effect be it bad or good. My example of a situation where emotion
influenced my decision-making would be, when years ago I had to
decide if I would remain friends with a person that I and others
felt that they were toxic and they were not growing that I had
known since age 15. We were both in our 30's at this point. I
decided to end the friendship. I do feel my decision was reasonable
based on the history and lack of respect and bad energy that was
coming from it. Emotion played a very high and important role in
this decision because we both had children that had known each other
all there lives and our families were close as well. Communication
definitely played a role in this situation because I felt as though
communication was not there and it never would be. Some people
never learn this and I and other friends tried for years with no
change.If I had removed emotion from making this decision at that
point, there still would have been no communication and no reasoning
to remain in that friendship and I think I still would have come
to that conclusion based on all other factors that were present and
with out the emotions, It would have happened earlier, most likely
by the age of 22. When facing the opportunity to take important
decisions, I depend a lot on my family I have grown in a very
close family and we help each other at the time of making decisions
by being supportive more than trying to impose our own opinions,
about a month ago my four-month-old niece had heart surgery about
8 hours away from where I live. The first reaction was to be
there with the family for the surgery. I went ahead and planned at
first reaction leave the kids with inlaws in order to be able to be
there personally for the surgery supporting during these tough times. I
wanted to be there emotionally speaking as the time of the surgery
was approaching communication with my wife play a significant role
cause we decided it was better and that we were going to help
my sister more if my wife would go instead of me going, I admit
that at first it was tough for me to accept but thinking it through
it was the best decision for all of us. I think that emotion is
always an influence in our decisions and many of the choices we
make are driven by our gut instinct. As the old saying goes,
following your gut will never lead you wrong. I always trust my
gut to guide my decisions, if I don't feel right about something, I
won't do it. I am raising my children to do the same, to follow
their gut instincts but also use common sense and critical thinking
skills when making decisions. We have moved houses a few times
in the last few years and I've had to make big choices about
whether to have my sons' change schools or stay at the school
they've been at since kindergarten. Ultimately, I went with my initial
decision of keeping them at the school they are comfortable with.
This decision was largely influenced by emotion, because I knew my
sons didn't want to change schools and even though it would have
been easier, I chose to allow them to stay there. My approach to
decision making is dependent on the situation. I am more likely to
make a decision with emotion when it comes to personal issues.
Recently, I had to decide whether to return to college and get my
bachelor’s degree or be content with an associate’s degree. In a
conversation with a coworker, she questioned how I received my
promotion without a bachelor’s degree. I found myself defending my
experience and my accomplishment of an associate’s degree. This situation
frustrated me and made me feel my qualifications were insignificant. I
decided I had to register for school and get the degree. I spoke
to my husband about my frustration and the enormous amount time
and commitment it would take to accomplish my bachelor’s degree.
He was supportive but questioned my motive. He helped me realize,
I needed to set my goal because it was what I wanted and not
to prove to anyone I was worthy. I contemplated for several months,
before I decided to register for class. Once I removed the emotion
from my decision to rush back to school, I evaluated my and
situation and considered the benefits of attaining my bachelor’s degree.
I researched several online schools, evaluated my financial situation to
avoid debt and utilized the resources my employer offers to find the
right school. My decision would have been different if my abilities
had not been challenged. I have 7 years until retirement so furthering
my education seemed unnecessary. I was content with my accomplishment
of an associate’s degree and the accomplishment of my promotion
which were both part of my long term goal. Now I clearly can
see the benefits of a bachelor’s degree even after retirement. Once
again, I am balancing life, work and school. I am usually considered
a "thinking" person and get a lot of complaints from family because
they feel I think too much. I do however, have an example of a
time when I let my emotions influence my decision-making. One of
my previous bosses was a very difficult person to work for. She
was very demanding, which wasn't really the issue, but her lack of
appreciation and the fact that there was no pleasing became an
increasing issue. I love working where I do and have always done
well and received very high performance evaluations. But after a short
time of working for this person, I began to doubt myself and started
making more and more mistakes. I would get stressed out every
morning just getting ready to go work because I dreaded it so
much. After I finally had enough and we had a disagreement, I
decided promptly to find a new position with the company. We are
normally expected to have that type of discussion with our current
manager. I, however, began to avoid her and started interviewing for
other positions without her knowledge. When I did get a new job
offer, I immediately accepted and informed her that I would like to
transfer to my new role as soon as possible. She was not happy
with how I handled the situation. I think I made a reasonable
decision, but I could have handled it more professionally had I not
let my emotions get in the way. I think I still would have left
but would have discussed it with her prior to beginning the job
search. Well, I had to decide on leaving someone who only wanted
a friendship. Especially when it’s more than a friendship. However,
we’ve been talking for six years and within those six years he
claim he only like me as a friend . The role did I emotion play
in was I told him we couldn’t do extra in our friendship especially
if he’s not willing to take it to the next level . I know this
is not going to be an overnight thing but I know if I try to
eliminate talking and or seeing him on social media . Things will
get better . If I didn’t act off emotion I probably would still be
right there trying to work things out with someone who really just
see me as a friend and nothing else . When making important
decisions I always make a pros and cons list and play out every
possible outcome on paper as well as in my mind before I make
a sound decision. I am a big researcher so before I make any
decision whether it be important or even a lesser important decision
I want to be informed on the matter at hand. I never make a
hasty decision when it comes to important matters I feel it will
backfire on me if I do.One example I can give of a situation
where I let my emotions influence my decision-making would be that
I stayed in my former marriage longer than I should have. I knew
my ex-husband and I were no longer compatible; we continued to
grow apart over the years and I just could not emotionally bring
myself to end an almost 20 year marriage. I continued to think
with my heart and not what would be the best for both of our
lives in the long run. My ex-husband and I never did communicate
well from the beginning when it came to our relationship and
unfortunately that lack of communication killed our marriage. If I had
removed my emotions from the thought process of what was truly
best for myself, him and our children it would have saved all four
of us a lot of heartache. In the end he became bitter towards me
and in turn no longer has a relationship with his children. Had I
approached the demise of our marriage from a non-emotional way
perhaps the bitterness would not be there towards and he might still
have a relationship with his children. Decision making has been
something that I have developed with time. I can look back and
see how different my thought process was compared to what it is
now. A great example of emotion influencing my decision was years
ago when I traded in a car and got a new one. We had a
small car at the time. I was not in love with it and we wanted
something bigger. Was it logically the right time to trade-in the car?
No, but emotions get the best of you and cloud your judgment.
We ended up going to the car dealership, test driving and falling
in love with the car. In the end, we drove out with a new car.
We ended up with terms that could have been better had we used
our critical thinking. Looking back, I don’t think this was a reasonable
decision. I blame it on emotion and lack of experience (youth). The
emotion acted as a catalyst in the situation, feeling almost forced/rushed
to make the decision. Something that we wanted turned into a NEED
in our mind. In this specific situation, I don’t think communication
played a big role. I do believe that if the emotion had been better
controlled, there could have been a much better outcome. We could
have waited more time, gone to other car dealerships, look at other
vehicles, and etc. This would have allowed us to find a better
option, but our emotions gave us tunnel vision. Much like the reading
assignment for this week, I believe emotion can have a good and
bad effect on our critical thinking. In my situation, it was a negative
one. However, it does not always have to be a negative factor. In
the past I have made some decisions without really thinking them
through, as I have gotten older I have slowed down a bit and
really research, make pro and con lists and try to never make a
decision quickly. I was a single mom living in New York, had a
good career in Manhattan and started to think about moving to the
suburbs. It was hard for me to make the leap and I went back
and forth on the topic for about a year. I was in a new
relationship (about 6 months) when 911 happened, as a result he was
transferred to Philadelphia and had asked me to relocate with him. I
made the decision to go, it was definitely a decision based on
emotion. I was already thinking of living in the suburbs and here
I had the chance to do that, a home with a yard away from the
horror that occurred that day. If I would have removed emotion when
making that decision I most likely would have still gone however, I
would have done so a little more prepared. I would have done
research on schools and programs for children with special needs, as
my son is disabled. I would have made a few trips to get to
know the areas before deciding where to buy a house. It all turned
out for the best but there were so many bumps in the road and
it was emotionally a roller coaster. A situation where emotion influenced
my decision-making was dropping out of college. My senior year of
highschool I had no clue what college I wanted to go to or which
one would be best for me. As well as what degree I even wanted.
At the last minute, I got accepted at a college close to home. I
ended up feeling so stressed out because when classes started I still
didn’t know anything about my financial aid. Classes began and I
felt so overwhelmed with four online classes and a full-time job. I
had no clue how I was going to juggle all of it and still give
my very best. The first night of my classes, I ended up crying
and having a panic attack. A few days later, I ended up withdrawing
from my classes because my emotions got the best of me. I didn’t
think dropping out was the best or most reasonable decision. But I
felt too stressed and overwhelmed to continue. Although now I do
think it was the best decision, because I have found something that
works better for my schedule and my anxiety.
My emotions had a negative effect in this situation, because my
anxiety over having so much on my plate made me immediately drop
out. Communication did not play a role in this situation.
If I removed emotion from my decision-making, I would have continued
with my classes for that year and then transferred to the University
of Phoenix. If I did this I would already have a year of credits
towards my Bachelors degree instead of nothing. I honestly have to
say that this week’s discussion topic was a bit challenging for me,
in the sense of thinking of a situation of where my emotions
influenced my decision-making. I’m often told that I’m emotionally
unavailable, so to speak. I often approach situations from a logical
standpoint versus an emotional route. I normally like to leave emotions
out when it comes to decision making so that I have a clear mind
and strive to make the best choice. But if I had to provide an
example of when I let my emotions influence my decision, I would
have to go with the time I quit a job I had about 7 years
ago, due to a certain manager I did not get along with. I did
not feel that he was not a friendly person and had a reputation
as such through out the department. I felt that he was always
targeting me to the point that I became so frustrated and walked
off the job and never returned. He later called me along with an
individual from human resources to discuss my reasoning for leaving,
but by that time, I did not care to speak with him, nor work
for the company so I confirm my resignation. Thinking back, the
decision that was made was not rational because, I did not have a
back up plan in place as far as new employment at the time, so
I had to move back home with my mom for a few months.
Communication played a key role because instead of walking out, I
could have communicated my issues with management and human
resources to come up with better solutions rather than quitting. Had
I made the decision with my emotions removed, I probably would
have stuck it out longer, at least until I had another job in place.
I tend to be an emotional person. I try to remember that and use
logic to make my decisions as well as emotion. I think emotion
gives us to tools to direct our decisions. Logic can be corrupted by
too much emotion. This is why it is important to find a balance.
Recently, I made a decision to end my vacation early. I did this
because my grandpa was sick and in the hospital. I used emotion
for this decision because I care about my grandpa. If I didn't
perhaps I would not have came to see him so soon. Communication
did play a part in this because my family told me of my grandpas
situation. If they had told me it wasn't serious I would not have
came to see him so soon. If I had not used emotion in this
decision then perhaps I wouldn't have went to see my grandpa. The
reason it was important to me was because I have an emotional
connection to him. I feel like emotion can help spark the need to
implement logic to solve a needed problem. Without emotion, is a
problem even a problem? Critical thinking helps solve problems. I don't
believe myself to be an emotional person. I do find that when I
reach a critical moment in a decision process; I often, tend to worry
more about how others would feel, than my own feelings. I guess
that is being compassionate? I find that every day, that every "minor"
decision I make, leads up to a larger, and often times bigger,
decision that is coming off these smaller (sometimes what seems
inconsequential) made decisions. I try to operate being fair and up
front; and with the mindset, that my decisions won't make everyone
happy. I just have to find that fine line as to what will get the
job done and keep the operations running smoothly. Everyday I deal
with having staff calling out of work, for whatever reason, and
needing to make decisions (based on these call-outs) as to what is
deemed "critical" and must be done first and what can be passed
over because we don't have the time, or manpower, to do it. Where
the "emotional" side plays in are there are always those "squeaky
wheels" who I have to decide on if they are a critical need or
a pass by - despite not being emotional, I have to decide if I
want to deal with the complaints that will come if I don't do
these particular areas, or completing, even though they aren't critical.
Communication plays a key role in this as now I have to let my
Managers know why I decided to do provide service for a particular
area that "they" may not have deemed critical over something that is
critical. Had "emotion" not been involved in the decision process;
certain areas, would not have been done or deemed "critical' to
operations and needing the service we provided. I am not an emotional
person when it comes to making decisions. Since my early 20s, I
have been able to look at a problem and see that ultimately, I
have 2 choices to make. Then I ask myself, which I can live
with/without the most. I make the decision and I don’t look back.
The one exception was when I decided to get married for the
second time. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, that
decision was made out of loneliness. I was tired of being by myself,
I wanted a partner, and I was past ready to become a mother. I
wouldn’t admit it to myself, but I knew we weren’t compatible, but
I didn’t care. He was willing to marry me, so I went with it
just so I didn’t have to be alone. Communication did not play a
role in that decision at all. Had I taken emotion out of it, I
have no idea how my life would be different now. However, I will
say that I don’t regret it. Even though it didn’t work out, it
shaped me into the person that I am today. If I didn’t make that
decision, then I might have kids of my own now, which at the
time, was my dream. But if I did, then I wouldn’t be able to
be there for my nephews and nieces like I am now as well as
my parents. In the end, I know, that I am right where I need
to be. I always consider every possible outcome before ever making
a decision. I know that whatever decision I make will impact
everything in the future. When it comes to decision making it is
hard not to let my emotions get the best of me. An example
where my emotions influenced my decision making was when I was
at work and I paid for a patients medication. I felt like I had
to pay for it, and he was put into my path just so I could. I
had enough money for my lunch, and here he was counting change.
I felt like this decision that I made was reasonable. I would want
someone to do this act of kindness for my grandparent. My emotions
that I had towards this elderly patient were because he reminded me
of my grandparents. Communication played a roll as well. This patient
communicated to me how embarrassed they were. I would have never
just assumed that they were struggling to pay if they didn't communicate
that to me. If I had removed my emotion from this situation I
probably would have not paid for his medication. I only did this
because I had feelings towards him because he was elderly and
reminded me someone close to me. Working in the medical field
your emotions play a huge part in my decision making. I always
put myself in my patient shoes. How would I feel if I was the
patient or the family member of the patient. Hearing sad and emotional
stories tend to influence my decision making because my heart is so
open and can understand were many of my patient are coming
from.Many of my decision that were based off emotions have been
reasonably correct. I trust my gut and my emotions better than
anything. Everyday in my clinic we see at least 100 patients a day
with different issues but they all seem to have the same emotions.
Me being to empathize and communicate with each patient I encounter
makes me feel great. In my field of work communication play a
major roll. I can't do my work I do without it. I need to be
able to communicate with the patient. I don't regret any decisions I
made with my emotions. I honestly feel if I removed my emotions
from my decision making it wouldn't of changed because my gut
would of told me the same answer. I am the type of person to
take decisions very seriously. I am so focused on reaching my goals
that I make sure that each one of my decisions will not negatively
affect me in the future. Although this may be a good quality in
some aspects, it also is one of my biggest weaknesses because I
can keep myself up at night thinking about one particular situation.
Even the smallest decisions I make, like what I eat for breakfast,
have the ability to stress me out. I need to learn that even though
making decisions is very important, it will not be the end of my
life if I make one bad decision.I am also a big emotional decision
maker. For example, last year I made the decision to attend a local
University to study Accounting. Within the first two days of school
I had this feeling that I was not supposed to be there. A few
months later I also discovered that I do not want to be an
accountant. I have a passion for children and I love spending my
time with kids. This love for kids led me to decide that I wanted
to become an Elementary Teacher. Although I may not make as
much money as a teacher, I believe this emotional decision was
reasonable, because I will live a much happier life with this career.
Communication played a huge role in my decision. I was worried
about what my fiancé was going to think about changing my career
path, but he was fully supportive in my decision, and even tried to
push me towards being a teacher because he knew I would thrive
in that career. Communication helps take some of the stress out of
decision making because I like to hear what other people think before
I decide. If I were to remove emotion from this specific situation,
I probably would still be on the path to becoming an accountant.
Accountants make much more money, and without emotion, money would
have been my ultimate motive in choosing a career.
