The Emotion Default

From Emotion to Action

You experience anger, fear, or some other emotion, and feel compelled to act immediately. But in these moments, the action you’re pushed toward rarely serves you.

Anger at a rival prevents you from doing what’s in your own best interest. Fear of losing an opportunity pushes you to cut thinking short and act impulsively. Outrage at a criticism causes you to lash out in defense, alienating potential allies. The list goes on.

Emotions can multiply all of your progress by zero. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve thought about or worked at something, it can all be undone in an instant. No one is immune. The Olympian Matthew Emmons, for instance, was a prodigy who’d come to dominate the field of competitive rifle shooting. He was poised to win his second Olympic gold when the emotion default worked its mischief. Emmons was in the final round. He aimed. He fired. Bullseye. The only problem: he shot at the wrong target! Had it been the right one, he would’ve won the gold. Instead, he was awarded zero points and slipped to eighth place.

Afterward, Emmons said that he usually looked through the rifle scope at the number above the target to make sure it was the correct one before lowering the rifle to the bullseye. In this case, he’d skipped that crucial first step.

“On that shot,” he said, “I was just worrying about calming myself down … so I didn’t even look at the number.”1 So he scored a point for the emotion default, instead.

While Emmons’s Olympic loss is epic, it pales in comparison to the tragedy that unfolded in the life of a former colleague of mine. Let’s call him Steve. I noticed that Steve always seemed to shut down whenever politics came up during work dinners. One day, away from the group, I asked him why.

He told me a story I’d never forget.

One night, Steve’s parents came over for dinner. When they started talking about politics and taxes, the conversation grew heated. Steve’s emotions soon took over, and he started saying things he probably didn’t mean. Things that couldn’t be unsaid. Things we might say when we’re reacting and not thinking.

That was the last conversation he ever had with his parents. On their way home, their car was struck head on by a drunk driver. Neither recovered. That night still haunts Steve to this day. It’s a memory that won’t go away, about an ordinary moment he’ll forever regret.

Emotions can make even the best of us into idiots, driving us away from clear thinking. They often have help, though. Conditions that can leave us more exposed to the emotion default’s influence include sleep deprivation, hunger, fatigue, emotion, distraction, stress from feeling rushed, and being in an unfamiliar environment. If you find yourself in any of these conditions, be on your guard! The emotion default is likely running the show.