The Rationality of Emotions

I know that emotions is a subject that does not necessarily come up or out in conversation due to its uncertainty. As a Business Intermediary, our clients who sell their businesses do get emotional as they tell their story of the pain, effort, challenges, and rewards throughout the many years put forth to bring the business to its present position. I do thoroughly enjoy this part of our process as it gives me a chance to learn more about the business owner and hear the story in their words.

When I came across this rather long article, I found there was a great deal of wisdom presented in the article regarding the subject of emotions.

• “Feelings have their own intelligence and wisdom, are necessary in order to participate in the human experience at its most dynamic and incandescent, and must be intertwined with our rational faculties in order to achieve the good life”. You may have to read this multiple times to understand, the key words are “to achieve the good life”!
• “What actually happens if you remove emotions from judgement, is that people struggle to make choices”.
• “Emotions make our judgments less logical yet more meaningful”.
• “Emotions can be rational or irrational depending on whether the object of the emotion warrants the reaction”.
• “If our feelings just happen to us, then whether they miss the mark is largely a matter of chance, and the control we exercise over them is limited to managing their expression”.
• “Our emotional reactions to things depends on our ability to discern their worth and salience, which depends on how we define and ascribe meaning, which depends on our personal values”.

“If emotions are rational to the extent that they further your ultimate ends, and nearly everyone desires a life of great meaning, then choosing to embrace your emotions, even, ironically, those of an intensity that leans to irrational can be the most rational decision you could possible make”.

Please read the entire article, The Rationality of Emotions, to get the full understanding. Even though it is deep, you can still get some worthy wisdom for your emotions!