There are certain times that I know I shouldn’t make decisions.

When I am tired.

When I am angry.

When I have that general feeling of wanting to jab at people for no real reason.

When I am hungry.

When I am down.

When I am super happy.

I still make decisions during these times every so often, because it is hard to make the decision not to make the decision when these things are present.

I usually do an okay job of sticking to these rules, but every once in while I don’t, and it never turns out well.

When I am tired, everything feels overwhelming and vaguely ominous. Not the time to make decisions.

When I am angry, everything feels stacked against me and everyone seems like they suck. Not the time to make decisions.

When I have that general feeling of wanting to jab at people, I end up jabbing at people. Not the time to make decisions.

When I am hungry, small things can bring anger, and my focus is elsewhere. Not the time to make decisions.

When I am down, everything seems hopeless and useless so there is no reason to try anything. Not the time to make decisions.

When I am super happy, everything seems doable and easy and perfect and I will overcommit. Not the time to make decisions.

Essentially, it is dangerous to make decisions when we are in any kind of extreme (even a little extreme) emotional state, because everything is tinged by something that doesn’t necessarily have any correlation with reality.

Emotional states are very temporary, they are not good for long-term decisions.

Emotional states globalize very subjective experiences, they are not good for important decisions.

It’s seeing past them that’s the tricky part.