We should never underestimate the important role of feelings in our decisions. People always seek out win-win situations, and one of the most effective and cost-free ways you can benefit someone’s reward mechanism is through the feelings that you generate by your behaviors.
For example, when I am hiring someone or getting into a business relationship, I can’t say I make my decisions just by looking at the hourly rate or portfolio of that person. Rather, I first decide based on my emotions towards him. If I feel that I can click with that person and communicate easily, then I also feel like the quality of the process will affect the quality of the outcome.
Eventually the quality of the outcome may or may not be better than those of other candidates, but ultimately the way I feel plays a stronger role while imagining the possible results of this relationship.
It’s a fact that we all make our decisions based on our emotions. We may think the process of buying a product or an idea goes like this: Think, Buy, Feel.
However, the process actually works like this: Feel, Buy, Think.
We first feel for a product or an idea, then buy it, and then we try to bring logical explanations to our decisions. Our subconscious brain uses modeling, principles, values and rules. In fact, in most cases we don’t even know what we are thinking.
Think about your most important decisions:
Your spouse?
Your job?
Your college degree?
Can you say that you made logical choices by rationally comparing all prospects while you were making the most important decisions of your life? Or did you basically rely on your emotions, as in many other life situations?