By Ava Farrelly
When it comes to decision making, what is the best way to make them? It’s a part of everyday life
having to make choices for ourselves or others, but some decisions are more important than the
majority.
A common way most people make decisions is by analysing the situation in a logical format, what will
provide the best possible outcome? Unfortunately, that cannot always be achieved. Sometimes we have
to make decisions with our emotions involved. Emotional thinking can be a strength and a weakness
when making judgement calls. If you don’t think compassionately, some decisions we make can be
destructive in other people’s lives due to the consequences of our decisions.
So is it better to think emotionally or logically?
I feel it depends on the person as well as the situation. As I previously mentioned, some decisions are
more important and require a lot of thought and consideration. Focusing on facts when making
decisions is necessary as it means the outcome won’t be for selfish reasons but purely based on what
needs to be done.
However after debating this question, I have realised emotion has to be a part of everyone’s thinking. If
we analysed situations only with facts and rationality, we would be no better than generative AI. As
humans, we are meant to feel things wholeheartedly. If we don’t apply that to our decisions, how can
we say that our choices were correct, specifically for us? Decisions need emotion from us to define our
values and individuality. If we don’t allow ourselves to feel the significance of our choices, how can we
believe we are making the right decision? If our decisions don’t affect us, why do we feel the
consequences? While there are a lot of things to consider involving the debate of emotion versus logic,
we need emotion to express our thoughts on what decisions would be best suited for our emotional
development and overall well being.
Values are embedded into personal choices. The best decision for one person would not be the best for
someone else. Although logical thinking is useful with facts and reasoning it does not override emotion.
Our choices embrace our individuality as we determine what is right and wrong for our lives, solely for
us. Personally, I don’t believe in wrong choices, I feel whatever outcome we decide for ourselves will
lead to continuous growth and understanding. Even if the outcome of a decision is not immediately
successful, we learn from it and make decisions with more understanding for ourselves and what we
need from our choices. This perception of decision making involves both emotion and logic.
Emotions are strong and powerful so they need facts to be applied to them. No decision will ever be
fully ideal and no one will ever succeed at constantly making perfect choices. It’s okay to make wrong
choices as long as you have compassion for the situation and understand where you need to make
amends. After finding a medium between the spectrum of thinking, decision making can be done with
empathy and sensibility. Decisions will never be flawless but if we find the balance between emotion
and logic we can definitely move in the right direction towards what choices will be right for us.