4ways to keepCOVID-19 emotions fromleading you to make bad decisions

You can’t begin to connect with others’ emotions until you come to terms with your own. And the COVID-19 pandemic hasmost likely churned up new emotions and exacerbated old feelings. Before you can solve these problems, you must face these so-called ambient emotions.

1. Rankyourambientemotions

The first step is to rank your ambient emotions. TheWall St. Journal proposed rating such emotions on a scale of: 1 = never, to 7 = constantly. And its report on howto avoid bad financial decisions listed three such ambient emotions: fear, anger, and sadness.

2. Discussyouremotionswithpeers

Create a peer information sharing forum where you can sharewith your colleagues your primary ambient emotion. Ask whether any of your peers are feeling the same one. Listen to their descriptions of howthe emotion is affecting howthey think and act.

3. Recognizehowyour emotionwill skewyourthinking

Research suggests that different emotions are likely to skew your thinking in different ways. People who feel fear about COVID-19 may behave in a more risk-aversemanner in seemingly unrelated domains. If sadness is your dominant emotion, youmay be inclined to seek immediate gratification. Knowing howyour primary ambient emotion affects theway you thinkwill break the magic spell that the emotion casts on your ability to solve problems rationally.

4. Engage rationalitytomake thedecision

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Once you have completed these three steps, your ambient emotions will still be there— but you will have freed the rational part of your mind to consider possible solutions, evaluate their costs and benefits, and pick the best options.