Maybe it was because I grew up in a family with 3 boys or because I’m innately stubborn.

I tend to think it is the latter.

However, my relationship and perspective towards emotions haven’t always been good.

To add some context, what I mean by “good” is that I haven’t, and arguably still am not, maximizing or processing my emotions to the most productive extent and value that I could be.

In the past, I think I’ve viewed emotions as cumbersome, something that got in the way of what I wanted to do.

However, my perspective has, and is still, changing.

Jeff Bezos, currently the richest man in the world, but also one of my personal favorite role models at the moment, talks about how many of his best decisions were made with intuition and considering emotion.

Intuition is a factor that plays into emotions. And the mastery of emotions leads to better intuition, which is very valuable.

Being human, having emotions are in many ways what makes us unique, timeless, and irreplaceable. We can make a decision that seems incredibly risky or irrational that a robot would never take, and be better for it.

From a logical perspective, Jeff Bezos should never have started Amazon. At the time when he had the idea for Amazon he was married and working a stable job.

In fact, his manager was so convinced that Jeff shouldn’t start Amazon that he’s said: “this is a great idea for somebody who doesn’t already have a great job.”

And as tempting as that was, Jeff decided to go with his intuition and make a decision based on emotion. (minute 9:35-10:23, 29:40 of this fantastic interview)

And look at the dividends his emotions and intuition paid!