Emotional Bookends

Studies show between 80-95% of our decisions are based on emotions. We feel inspired and sign up for a class. We feel frustrated and write an aggressive email. We are smitten and buy a handbag. Reason plays a minimal role in our decisions and therefore, if we think about it, our lives.

Cheryl Strauss Einhorn suggests one way we can temper the influence of our emotions as we make decisions is to create “emotional bookends.”

The idea is to name the emotion we are feeling when we are making a decision – anxiety, sorrow, joy, excitement – and then consider for a few seconds the emotion we want to feel about that decision 24hrs, or one week, later.

Emotional bookending helps us to see both the immediate and long-term impact our emotions have on our decisions. This creates the potential to make adjustments as we gaze into our future, emotionally.