How to Cut Emotional Drama to Make Better Decisions and Reduce Regrets in Life
Have you ever regretted eating that extra slice of pizza?
Or something more serious — have you regretted ending a long-standing friendship in a moment of rage?
Whether it’s the small regret of eating too much or the deep regret of breaking a friendship, one common thread runs through all regretful decisions: the influence of emotions.
That’s the trap.
❌ Trap - Making decisions based on emotions like anger, fear, and insecurities.
These emotions cloud our vision.
To avoid regret and constantly landing far from our goals due to poor decisions, we need to master our emotions.
But how do we develop rationality in a field dominated by emotions?
Pericles, a Greek politician during the Golden Age of Athens, offered a unique solution.
He believed,
“The human mind has to worship something, has to have its attention directed towards something it values above all else.”
For some, it’s their ego; for others, it might be their family, clan, nation, or God. But for Pericles, it was the mind or intelligence.
Pericles looked up to Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, who stood for rationality and guided humans to act with divine wisdom. She provided clarity, direction for victory, and the energy to achieve it.
Pericles’ solution was to cultivate an inner Athena, which required mastering emotions.
So, he trained himself:
- to never react in the moment.
- to never make decisions under the influence of strong emotions.
To achieve this for ourselves, we need to do the same.
Additionally, we should remain open to all ideas and options. We need to analyze our feelings and imagine all possible consequences of a strategy before committing to it.
We are often infected by the drama of those around us, continually reacting to what others throw at us, experiencing waves of excitement, insecurity, and anxiety. This makes it hard to focus on what truly matters.
You must resist the distractions caused by others’ drama by applying rationality.
Rationality helps you think beyond the drama, making you flexible and resilient.
The best part is that rationality isn’t a power we’re born with; it’s one that can be developed through training and practice.
Practice rationality. Start by recognizing human follies and biases.
In the next post, we’ll discuss some of the human biases that distort our thinking process.
Inspiration: Robert Greene
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