One of my biggest failings is a tendency to make decisions when I’m feeling down over something. I’m learning to recognise this, and hopefully by writing about it, I’ll learn to prevent it happening in future.
Feeling a bit fogged?
When our heads are in a mist, making important choices is not a good idea. Our decision making processes are clouded by negative thoughts, and we are most likely viewing our situation in a worse light than it is.
This has happened for me a few times in recent years, and I very much regret some of the decisions I’ve made. I wish I could wind back time, and think some of them through fully in a variety of different moods, but that’s not an option.
An example from 2007
One decision I regret making when I felt down over something was giving up my technology blog back in 2007. I’d spent nine months developing the blog to the point where I had a half-decent following. My subscriber numbers looked healthy, my daily visitors were growing, and I enjoyed good conversations on most of my posts. I felt as if I was on the cusp of a breakthrough of some kind.
Then I remember having a run of very negative comments, narrowly missing out on a feature that could have driven a lot of eyeballs my way, and also worrying about the (albeit remote) possibility of becoming as well known as someone like Scobleizer (which I didn’t want).
Downward spiral
My mood spiralled down for a few days, and I stopped posting for a while. Eventually, I came to the conclusion I should quit before I dug myself a hole I couldn’t climb out of. I shut the blog down, and disappeared.
I’ve made other decisions since then that have been influenced by a bad mood of some kind, and I certainly made bad decisions before that, too. Fortunately, there have been other occasions where I’ve been able to recognise what’s going on, and put the brakes on for a week or two, allowing my head to clear, so I can re-evaluate the situation.
Don’t fall into the trap
The point I’m trying to make is that it’s usually pretty obvious when we get out of the wrong side of bed in the morning. Couple that with a stressful commute, a couple of tight deadlines, a spilled cup of coffee, and a skipped lunch, and we might just be in the wrong frame of mind for making our mind up over something.
I’ve started taking a few minutes to write down how I feel, what could be affecting my decision, and if possible, I put it aside and come back to it later when I’m feeling clearer.
What do you think? I know people are visiting this blog, and I know there are a few subscribers, so please don’t be shy! Let’s get a discussion going. Have you ever made a bad decision while under the influence of a foul mood? What strategies do you use?
