To make a balanced choice, you need to be in tune with your emotions and how they may distort your reasoning. Excitement is good but over excitement may ruin things for you.
Excitement can lead you to overestimate your chances of success
Casinos use both bright lights and loud noises to bring out excitement in order to convince you to spend more money. When you feel excited about an opportunity, you'll be more likely to underestimate your risk. This is because when you're feeling really passionate about something, you're less likely to see the negatives and more likely to see an opportunity as a sure thing.
Anxiety in one area of your life stresses you out
Research has shown that if you're worried about something personal in your life, it can cause you to be less able to focus on your work. Even if personal worries and business are completely unrelated, you may find that the two are hard to separate.
Decreases productivity
Research shows that people tend to set low, less intense goals when they feel sad. In one study, participants were asked to sell various items. Participants who were feeling sad set the price for those items lower than for those who weren't feeling sad. Researchers believe that the difference was because people eventually hope achieving their goal will improve their mood. By creating low expectations for yourself, you are preventing yourself from reaching your greatest potential. You may decide not to apply for that promotion or you're not negotiating for what you want all because it seems like everything's going wrong.
Shocks of anger and embarrassment can lead to taking a long shot
Intense emotions may cause you to make poor decisions that are not in your best interest. For example, a feeling of anger may lead you to get into a fight and a feeling of embarrassment will cause you to engage in risky sexual behavior. If this continues, it can have long term effects on your mental health. When you're feeling really emotional, your risks can become self-destructive. If your big risk doesn't pay off, you'll be left with anger and embarrassment.
Why you should balance your thoughts and emotions
Anxiety can be a helpful tool when making a decision, as you will usually avoid making an impulsive choice. Boredom can provoke creativity and help you explore new endeavors. Raise your logic and decrease your emotional reactivity by writing down the issues you're having with a tough decision. Checking off the pros and cons of your choice or choosing to stick with an initial option can help you think more rationally about your options.
