Fired up or in the firing line, your state influences your decisions.
In this opinion piece I will reflect location of fire in your body determines the effectiveness of your decisions. This is metaphoric fire we are talking about. We all deal with fiery situations on a regular basis where it is kindling can completely change our lives.
Fire in your ears: This is where your relationship with self and others come into play. Who is in your ears saying things, your boss or your partner constantly encouraging you or they take every opportunity to hurl foul or abusive words at you. If you have a strong relationship with self then perhaps that may not impact you however any sign of weakness will lead to a weak connection between your ears and mouth and you may end up perpetrating the cycle. Leading to decisions that are driven by others and not your own intent. Individuals have been brainwashed into doing things that are ethically, morally, legally wrong however the victims does really believe any different. I was in a conversation with a friend who deals with sensitive news on a daily basis. He regularly gets threats however has has a strong moral compass and has a strong sense of self, he manages to tide over it claiming that he is thick skinned. In a situation like this we all need a strong moral compass and a thick skin.
Fire on your tongue : Some people use words carefully even when using a negative emotion whilst others prefer a steady stream on unconcerned verbal diarrhoea. Not only it reflects the pedigree but the ability to infect others. I recall a staff member used to crack jokes on serious matters at workplace. As a consequence everyone ended up avoiding her. A fiery tongue causes abrasive relationships and deeply impacts collective decision making by diminishing the interpersonal trust.
Adding fuel to fire: when decisions are made on an emotive state, we enhance or diminish the facts used; this is to justify our decision making which may not look rational in the hind sight.
In the era of marketing noise and many consumer choices, high emotive relationship can cut through( Kevin Roberts talks about this in his book Lovemarks: the future beyond brands). In a high stake situation, when the prospect turned up 45 minutes late for scoping and lunch meeting without any reason, I decided not to work with the client perhaps an emotive decision however it was a predictor of behaviour I can anticipate in future, lacking accountability to the purpose.
When stakes are high or risk is high a slight disturbance can lead to decision people are in a fragile state. In this state slight provocation can lead to a decision with bad long term outcome.
Number of family members have decided to end up in court, fought or separated. Wrong choice of words simply add fuel to fire in a fragile state.
Fire in the muscles: Calm state with a state of readiness to take action enhances the rationality and outcome of the decisions people in this state will make quicker decisions and change them quickly when things don’t go to plan. This certainly results in good outcomes and a state of flow where self reinforcing positive decisions making process continues. Certainly leading to effort - reward - happiness - more effort - more reward - more happiness self reinforcing cycle. Whereas it is easy for sad people to get locked into a downward spiral hoping that someone or something will help them stop them going down the gurgler . The only challenge here is anyone who tries to stop someone who is not trying to stop themselves ends up going down as well unless they are super strong. Hence one your avoid those who drain your energy.
Fire in the rear: There is a persistent threat or an imperative one, a Damocles sword dangling. Sometimes we end up associating a negative or positive state of emotion for a person, place, thing or activity. Perhaps due to our association of pain, risk, mistakes of the years past or low return. It de-energies us and makes us vulnerable. Encountering such a situation creates lags in decision making. Employees who find themselves in the firing line end up being complacent and do not make decisions or any decisions made are merely to temporarily safeguard themselves without being mindful of long term consequences of their decisions.
Flames all around you: When working in an extreme state of threat where you are likely to lose a lot for a small mistake the chances are you will not make any decision and rely on someone else to make the decision just making sure that when things go wrong, you have someone to pin the blame on. I friend who recently migrated to Australia was describing his experiences in the job before he migrated. No one actually made a decision and they were really wanting to follow orders where they don’t have to think. Have you encountered this scenario at your workplace? Surroundings? How did you react?
In such an environment where threat prevails, people withdraw from their immediate environment, empathy is out of the door as everyone just focuses on self serving interests and the flow-on effect continues on people’s personal lives and carries on wherever they go. It almost works like a domino effect. While having a conversation with the CEO of a large financial institution I noted that what we think collectively, heavily impact how the economy fairs. If you think carefully if we want to save or spend, all our investment decisions are based on our perception of future. We sacrifice today to save for the future hoping that the saving will help us with a better future. We are constantly making decisions such that are threats are replaced by hope on a constant basis. Greater the threat or risk, greater is the need of hope. In a situation like this, tiniest reward can kindle a ray of hope.
Nice ambient fire all around: If you go to buy a car, house or any big-ticket item, the salesperson will talk to you and work with you to design what you are looking for.
A photographer will take lot of pictures and will offer you the first one for free. You have already been part of the journey of owning something before you own it it is hard to get it out of your head. You are now emotional about it.
Many of us are swayed in our decision-making process when you already deem yourself to be part of the journey or ownership. I remember the pool design company showing us how the pool will look at our backyard. The negotiation shifted from how much it will cost to how it will look.
It is easy to favourably negotiate when your client is part of the journey. Create a nice cosy and ambient environment for a healthy and favourable decision making environment.
High intensity fire all around: However, creating too much of excitement can be dangerous not for the one causing it but for the one experiencing it. If you find yourself at a religious meeting, annual or festival family get together, a high emotional intensity event, it can make you feel invincible. Someone who can magically achieve anything in the universe. Though there is truth to what they say however sometimes it resonates with the story of frog that was made to believe he can fly, or a pawn to believe he was king. We forget that it is a journey and they have to travel the path to get to it while overcoming the mirage More on the idea is here.
Just like excitement, anxiety can cloud the judgement we end up painting all the possible scary scenarios of the future and clouding our judgement. Decisions made with anxiety are mainly to subvert the loss failing to capture the upside.
Head on fire: Anger on the other hand comes from an immediate expectation and pay-off. It can be purely transactional. We see it happen on a daily basis at work or at home. If you don’t do this, “that”will be the consequence you will need to face. In situation of anger we look for an instant outcome. At times we are willing to accept sub optimal outcome which may not be a perfect resolution to situation. I know that my dry cleaner gives vouchers to the customers in case of inadvertent damage to clothes. The angry customers happily accept the vouchers as the damage is already done and he gets to keep the customers. At a hotel booking when the room categories got mixed up and the one of my friends got angry with the situation. Management gave my friend the option of of free food vouchers. He was pacified though as we had plans to go on a hike he never ended up using it. When we negotiate or make decisions in an angry or irrational position our outcomes are sub optimal. We rather unknowingly compromise at a lower pay-off.
Out of fire: Tired person can make judgement errors while driving and be irritable and behave in an inappropriate manner in a social setting resulting in decisions which may be abrasive. Emotional Bank account is a term Steven Covey used to refer when we are out of empathy we lose the connection or the spark that connects us with others. People make best decisions when they are well rested. Remembering a leader in early days of my career who never took a reprimanding decision late in the evening for he could be wrong .
Walking on fire and not talking fire: Eli Wallace in the good bad upgly movie “ ugly” is in barhtub when someone looking to shoot him comes and threatens ....Eli shoots him and says “when you gotta shoot you shoot don’t talk” such is true in life you should focus on doing what you should do and keep emotions aside when making a decision to make sure you are level headed when you do. Action speak louder than words .
I hope this gets you fired up ready to take charge and make sure the fire inside you is used to energise and make constructive and positive changes all around.