Some decisions we must make each day are so simple that we unconsciously arrive at the solution. Whereas, other decisions are much more complex and it feels as if no good answer exists. Most of these decisions typically involve some level of emotion throughout the decision-making process. For example, there may not be a strong need for emotions for a decision about what to eat for lunch. However, emotions may play a large role in making what someone may feel is a life-changing decision, such as choosing a career or which college to attend. Batista (2013) states that “some of these decisions feel particularly big because they involve selecting one option to the exclusion of all others when the cost of being “wrong” can be substantial” (para. 1). Professor Baba Shiv believes utilizing emotions are underrated suggesting that “it is so critical that you invoke emotion into the decision-making process because of the virtues that accrue from there” (Stanford, 2011). He proceeds to point out these virtues produced from emotion as passion that is persuasive, confidence that is contagious, and the extraction of utility from the experience (Stanford, 2011).
An example of when I was very confident about a decision was when I disagreed with a process in my organization. It was drilled into our heads that we were not allowed to pay for shipping over $250 using a government credit card. This was supposedly a government regulation that was strictly enforced and my supervisor along with my counterparts at other facilities all agreed the purchase card could not be used for this purpose. I discovered an employee had been routinely using their card to pay for shipping over $250 and questioned them on their rationale and process. I also read the regulation, then I read it again, and read it some more. Something did not feel right. I interpreted the regulation that shipping over $250 had to go through a specific process, however, nowhere did it state the credit card could not be used as the payment mechanism. I was fully confident that the entire organization throughout the country had been following a regulation incorrectly and in the process wasting resources. I butted heads with my counterparts and supervisor over the issue with no resolution. I understood where they were coming from because after all, how could an entire organization possibly be following a process incorrectly for so long? Yet, I believed that was truly the case and I finally asked my supervisor if he would allow me to raise my concern to the national level and he approved. Long story short, my instincts proved to be right and the process changed throughout our organization. It paid, in this case, to trust in my confidence and follow through to challenge conventional wisdom to result in a positive change.
Conversely, an example in which I lacked the confidence of the outcome was my decision to pursue a Master’s degree. I failed out of my first year of college and immediately enlisted in the Air Force. It was definitely a wake-up call that I needed to grow up or I would be “flipping burgers for a living” as my father used to say. After a couple years of getting acclimated to the military lifestyle, I spent almost 8 years chasing my dream of earning a Bachelor’s degree. I was proud of this accomplishment because I had to juggle so many other responsibilities while taking my classes. It was a challenge and one I wasn’t sure I could overcome when I began that journey. So here I was being faced with another decision to further my education and my list of responsibilities was not growing shorter. So many questions and scenarios ran through my mind. I found myself constantly weighing the pros and cons of such an important decision. Hoch, Kunreuther, and Gunther (2001) suggest “there is a growing body of evidence that affect and emotions play an important role in people’s decision processes for choices when there are uncertain outcomes” (p. 269). The outcome of my decision was seemingly uncertain, but did I give myself any reason to doubt I would succeed? Was even the slightest chance something could go wrong be enough to deter me from making an attempt at a Master’s degree? I knew it would not be easy, but I also knew I would not allow myself to fail, so I made the decision to begin another academic journey.
References:
Batista, E., (2013, November 8). Stop worrying about making the right decision. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2013/11/stop-worrying-about-making-the-right-decision
Hoch, S., & Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. (2001). Wharton on making decisions. (1st edition.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Stanford. (2011, November 7). Brain research at stanford: decision making [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/WRKfl4owWKc
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