Don't Judge Emotions

 This isn't actually an extension of my recent series on "Don't Judge," but it's got a short update.

I got together with my Catholic buddies on Wednesday morning and what I had thought was rude and abrasive behavior on my part turned out to have invigorated all of them. They had actually appreciated the way I questioned their thought processes in the previous session, they'd thought a great deal about what was said and changed some of their thinking. They sincerely thanked me for making that into one of our best sessions ever.

Whew! I feel so relieved that I hadn't hurt my friends with my logic-probing.

Decisions Are Made Emotionally

And now onto the emotions. It's an axiom in sales that people make their purchase decisions based on emotion far more than logic. For me, that's true practically everywhere.

At The Gym

My morning workouts consist of 5 minutes of warmup cardio, about 45-60 minutes of lifting and then 20 minutes of more serious cardio. I almost never do the full 20 minutes at the end. I typically do 8-12 minutes, get bored and then leave the gym. That's an emotional decision, not a logical one.

As I'm starting to get bored, I keep telling myself that there's nothing worthwhile I will do with that 10 minutes I'm saving. The very best way to spend that 10 minutes is on the treadmill. I've always got an interesting podcast, book or good music in my ears, so it's not like I'm suffering. It couldn't be any easier to go another 10 minutes, but I DONT WANT TO KEEP DOING IT! So I quit.

It's a purely emotional decision.

At The Liquor Store

I fight alcoholism constantly. I'm a heavy drinker, but not a true alky. I've been studying my behavior for about a decade now and have it pretty well dialed in. If I don't have booze at the house, I'm safe. If I do have booze at the house, I'm almost certain to drink.

My best defense, therefore, is to not buy it. I still buy it.

I needed to go to the store the other day for parsley and green onions for my North African Mussels and Clams recipe. I had no beer at the house. I had been doing reasonably well over the previous week and I had no stress or anxiety attacking me.

I specifically chose the supermarket that had the best beer selection. I knew what I was doing, I knew it was a bad idea, BUT I WANTED TO DO IT! I got my onions and parsley and then perused the beers. None of them were any good. I'm very fussy about my beer.

As I walked down the aisle, I purposefully recalled what it feels like 30 minutes after you've stopped drinking and turn to water instead. Your blood alcohol has plateaued and then begins to decline. I lose my energy and enthusiasm and feel tired when that happens. I knew I was going to feel like that if I got the beer.

Nevertheless, I drove over to the really good liquor store and got some excellent beers. There was no reason to do it. It was against my best interests. I knew all of the reasons not to do it, but I did it anyway.

Conclusion

You make your decisions emotionally, not logically. This is why the very best way to fight drinking is to find something fun to do during your hours of greatest temptation, something that can't be done with a buzz, something that hopefully keeps you away from the fridge and the brewskis.

I'm working on that now, puttering around with projects in the garage. I'm reasonably hopeful that will work.

Logic certainly hasn't.