The Surprising Science of How Feelings Help You Think: To Make Big Gains, Avoid Tiny Losses

The Surprising Science of How Feelings Help You Think: To Make Big Gains, Avoid Tiny Losses

No matter how rational or objective we might think we’re being, we’re always under the influence of how happy, or sad, or anxious, or even hungry we are. The fact that each emotion is distinct from other emotions is also wrong. Emotions overlap. They don’t have sharp lines between them. It’s more like a spectrum, like the colors of the rainbow.

The feelings of the emotions might be universal, but the classifications or the categories, and the way we express or make faces, seems to vary from culture to culture. Some cultures don’t have a word for sadness, and there’s a culture that has a word for the exhilaration you feel when you’re going head-hunting against another tribe. This raises an intriguing question about the relationship between emotions and language.

Emotion is a functional state of the mind. It’s a state of processing that you’re in. It affects your rational processing. It’s a mistake to say that the rational mind and the emotional mind are separate—much less to say emotions are counterproductive. You can’t even say emotions are separable from logical thinking. It all happens together. Emotions are used in determining our actions. The emotions are a framework for your logical processing. It affects how you evaluate data, how skeptical you are of certain ideas versus how accepting you are of those same ideas.

Your unconscious mind does a lot of mental calculations that are more complex than your conscious mind is able to do. It can handle more information. That’s what comes back to your brain in gut feelings, hunches, and intuitions. This concept reminds me of "Think Fast and Slow" and the idea of system 1 and 2 thinking. Our intuition and emotions play a significant role in our decision-making process, often guiding us in ways that our conscious mind cannot fully comprehend.

Did you know that your hunger can make you hungry for things that aren’t sustenance? And disgust is the same. You don’t have to sit down and go through a tedious analysis of what your state is before you accept your decision. Just be more conscious of your bodily state, your core affect, your emotional state. Studies have shown that people who are more mindful are happier and live longer. So why not practice mindfulness and emotional regulation?

Another interesting insight comes from the concept of "To Make Big Gains, Avoid Tiny Losses." In many cases, improvement is not about doing more things right, but about doing less things wrong. Japanese television makers, for example, did not seek out more intelligent workers or better materials. Instead, they simply said, “Let’s build the same product, but make fewer mistakes.” Japanese companies improved by subtracting the things that didn’t work, not by creating a bigger, better, or more expansive product.

This idea of improvement by subtraction is focused on doing less of what doesn’t work: eliminating mistakes, reducing complexity, and stripping away the inessential. While many managers want to "do more great work," very few people want to "do less bad work." Our desire for that next level of performance often leads us to focus on the front end of the curve, neglecting the potential gains in eliminating errors and reducing complexity.

There are a few reasons why improvement by subtraction can be more effective. First, it is often easier to eliminate errors than it is to master peak performance. By identifying and addressing the areas where mistakes are being made, we can make significant improvements without necessarily reaching a new level of performance. Second, improvement by subtraction does not require us to achieve a new level of performance. Instead, it allows us to focus on avoiding small losses rather than constantly chasing the next big gain.

So, what are some actionable advice we can take from these insights? Here are three suggestions:

1. Practice mindfulness: Be more aware of your emotional state and how it influences your thinking. By being mindful of your emotions, you can make more informed decisions and evaluate information more effectively.

2. Eliminate errors: Instead of constantly seeking new ways to improve, focus on identifying and eliminating errors in your work or decision-making process. By reducing mistakes, you can make significant gains without necessarily needing to reach a new level of performance.

3. Simplify and reduce complexity: Look for ways to streamline your processes and eliminate unnecessary complexity. Often, simplifying can lead to more efficient and effective outcomes.

In conclusion, emotions play a crucial role in our thinking process. They are not separate from logical thinking, but rather intertwined with it. Understanding and harnessing our emotions can lead to better decision-making and improved overall performance. Additionally, by focusing on eliminating errors and reducing complexity, we can make significant gains without necessarily needing to reach new levels of performance. So, let's embrace the power of emotions and strive for improvement by subtraction.