Emotions Can Affect Decision-Making

I was in college. It was a Thursday in October. I was on a flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake City for my sister’s wedding. Once we were up in the air, like we all do, I began to think back through my day. It was then that I realized that I had forgotten to turn in an assignment. I had been working so hard to try to get into the national honors society for the program that I was in. Now, it was over. All I could think was… Preston… you blew it…

Earlier that day, I had received feedback on a communication exercise in a different class. I would lose a significant number of points because of one term that I used during the exercise: “highly orchestrated.”

“You can’t use words like that,” my professor told me, “people won’t understand your message.” Pridefully, my thoughts echoed “that’s not my problem, I didn’t choose to stop learning in Jr High!” I let these thoughts get the best of me. I became so angry that I stormed off campus without turning in a simple assignment in an easy class.

We wouldn’t be back to Phoenix until the following Monday. My grade would drop from an A to an A-. No more honors society. By reacting the way that I did, I gave away the ability to choose my actions.

I would continue to do my best in the program. I would still go on to graduate with honors, though not as high as I had hoped.

I learned a lot while in college, but it was on that October Thursday that I learned just how much my emotions could affect my ability to make decisions.

-Preston Rhoades