There are a lot of emotions flying around the workplace these days. With the rash of layoffs, quiet quitting, disengaged employees, and more, the workplace can feel like an emotional battleground.
There are a lot of emotions flying around the workplace these days. With the rash of layoffs, quiet quitting, disengaged employees, and more, the workplace can feel like an emotional battleground.
In this current workplace situation, you may be driven by all the emotions around you to start making emotional decisions. There‘s nothing wrong with emotional choices; however, you may be swept up in an unrealistic emotional rush and make decisions for now that may not help you in the future.
Two different thought processes drive decisions, logic and emotion. Sometimes these two can intertwine, and when they do, it becomes more challenging to decipher which place the decision comes from.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the flaws in both emotional and logical decision-making and examine which tool is better and how to stay on that track.
Neither Tool is Perfect
Both the emotional decision process and the logical one have flaws. That makes sense because they are human, and humans are beautifully flawed. Here are the immediate flaws with both.
Logic
Two significant flaws with the logical way of looking at life and making decisions;
Logic requires emotion. Logic cannot always give you a clear choice without emotion. This is especially true when it comes to choices about life satisfaction. Choices about your job, relationships, or other life satisfaction choices, cannot always be handled with a pen, paper, and a pro and con list. This is because there are emotions tied to these choices. A job may be perfect on paper, but then you get to the office and discover the place's culture is different from what you want.
And the same goes for relationships. Your partner may look great on paper, but the underlying unknowables that come with human interaction may make this partner not a good fit in your life. Emotion will play a part in these types of decisions.
Logic demands energy. Because of that, logical solutions cannot always be made quickly. When seeking a logical choice, a lot of mental and physical energy goes into the mix. Quick logical decisions are rare.
Emotion
Here are two significant flaws that can derail an emotional decision.
Emotions can deceive. What you feel may not be what’s best for you. It may also not be exactly what your heart wants. Perhaps your job feels right, but is it allowing you to spread your wings and discover your strengths fully? It may feel right, and you love the people you work with, but is it what’s best for you?
Emotions can be irrational. Emotions are not controlled by logic, which means you can have emotions that are entirely irritational for the situation at hand. Also, some emotions can pull you completely off track, leaving you even more confused.
Is one better
It’s not a matter of one being better than the other, but one may give you a better result. In this case, logic is the better of the two. With logic, you’re making critically examined answers, which will likely pay off better in the long run. The less you allow emotions to be the driver, the less likely you are to make impulsive decisions. Honestly, sometimes an impulse is great, and it will carry you. However, an impulse backed by logic is your most decisive choice.
This is not to say logic is always better than emotion, and, especially if you want to be an effective leader, you cannot toss emotion altogether. Some emotion, or having a good emotional IQ, will be an excellent tool for leading and keeping people happy.
But what if you’re a purely emotional thinker? What happens to you? Well, there are a few things you can do to enhance your logical side and balance out a purely emotional palette.
Thinking Logically
Logical thinking is an excellent skill to develop and use in the workplace. When logic runs the show, you’re likely more equipped to respond wisely to your emotions in high-pressure situations. In these situations, emotions cannot be trusted as much as a logical approach.
Some people come to this logical place naturally, but for emotional thinkers, it’s a bit more troubling, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You can learn to enhance your logical thinking.
Here are a few ways to help you develop better logical thinking tools.
Question things
Question things you usually accept as a rule. The more you question, the more you’ll know about a subject. The more you know, the better you are equipped to deal with the situation from a logical viewpoint. This works in the office and your personal life. The more you question, the more you learn to think critically, which is backed by logic.
Don’t take things personally
To enhance your logical thinking, avoid taking things personally or letting your ego take the driver’s seat. Often in fast-paced situations where decisions are split second, there isn’t time to take everyone’s feelings into account. If you allow your feelings or ego to step in, you risk blowing a situation up for the wrong reasons.
Being logical allows you to be flexible and adaptable while keeping a clear eye on the challenge at hand, not how it’s causing you to feel a certain way. Logical people know there is always another chance if it doesn’t turn out how they wanted this time. Allowing logic to take the lead will enable you to accept feedback and get it right down the line.
Have a creative outlet
Creative activities, like drawing, painting, and writing, stimulate logical thinking. You will pick up problem-solving skills with these types of outlets. Think about the focus and dedication it takes to play an instrument, paint a picture, or even write a story. But, these activities naturally build logic skills.
Sparking your creative side will allow you to bring flexibility to situations where you can think outside the box more quickly. There is also an element of stress relief to a creative hobby. Making logical decisions is difficult, especially when you’re pushed to the edge or tired; reducing your stress level can help make those decisions easier.
Avoid superstitions
Thought patterns can cause you to hold onto beliefs that do not allow you to fully engage your logical side. Things like magical thinking or superstitions will be roadblocks when you seek to strengthen your logic.
Acknowledging that some situations are beyond your control and not passing them off to the cosmos or wishful thinking forces you to take responsibility for your actions and learn from them going forward.
Stay on top of these, as it is easy when stressed or feeling hopeless to allow the emotional side to take over and move you toward irrational thinking.
Visit Nature
This advice may seem counterintuitive, but it’s not. Spending time in nature allows you to understand that logical thinking doesn’t have to be rigid, mathematical, or void of beauty.
Being in nature calms the mind and opens you up to perceiving the world differently. Being in nature a few times a month gives you a different perspective on life, which makes your thinking more flexible and open to change.
Take Time Away
If you’re hoarding all your free time until vacation, you’re not helping your logical side to flourish. If you wait til those two weeks once a year arrives, two things will happen, one, you’ll put so much weight on that time off to fix everything, you’ll never be satisfied, and that’s too much pressure to put on one vacation. Second, you’re not allowing yourself time to decompress from the daily stress. Your brain needs time away to adequately process the information you receive in a day.
Have a relaxing ritual post work and, if possible, take a day or two off every month to allow your brain to recharge and be ready to accept and process all the new information coming your way. Suppose you allow it to all backup and never give it a release. In that case, you’re likely to fall into emotional traps and react from a purely emotional point because your logical brain is exhausted and not being replenished.
Sleep
For some reason, the idea that people who operate on 4 hours of sleep are special has taken off. Perhaps they are, but to keep your mind sharp and your logic firing on all cylinders, you need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Anything less, and you’re not giving your brain enough time to recharge and be open to new thoughts and ideas.
Try setting a fixed bedtime, putting all electronics out of the room, and sleeping. The light from electronic devices impedes deep or REM sleep, which is where the brain resets and gets ready for the next day.
Reading and listening to relaxing music or white noise will help you sleep longer and deeper. Also, napping during the day will make falling asleep at night much more difficult. Shoot for your nighttime nine; your brain will be rested, and your logical mind will be strong.
Logic doesn’t mean no creativity
Staying logical will make the wave of changes in the workplace easier to handle and will allow you to make better choices about your work life and life outside of work. So, practicing ways to ignite the logical mind is essential for remaining sane in today’s shiting workplaces.
But it’s important to note that being logical doesn’t mean you need to jettison all your creative drives. Your creative drive is vital to all parts of your life, and that should never be eclipsed by logic; your creative mind and logical brain can work in harmony. Once you have a grip on your emotional life and know how to tap into your logical brain, you can move easily between all three and control them rather than being in control over yourself.
Logic, emotions, and creativity can all live and work together; the best thing is knowing how to engage the different parts of your brain and when. Being on top of your mindset will make life easier, more productive, and more fulfilling.
