Dear @Margi, in 1979 I was not employed by my College, even I was better quallified than many people who were working already there. Beside, I was the only candidate who applied for the position of teaching assistant and the report was positive. Reason for my rejection was politics! I was never been a member of a Communist party, that was the reason!

My choice then, based on heightened arousal and spite, was to live the country for better education as a Fulbright fellow, having in mind that I will be back in few years to work at the same College. And that is what happened so far. I do work at the same College for almost 33 years!

Main life choices of a person depends upon the rational acceptance in Integrity, equity, and quality of life in the forms of goal setting, measuring, monitoring and followup evaluation processes etc,

Dear @Margi, in 1979 I was not employed by my College, even I was better quallified than many people who were working already there. Beside, I was the only candidate who applied for the position of teaching assistant and the report was positive. Reason for my rejection was politics! I was never been a member of a Communist party, that was the reason!

My choice then, based on heightened arousal and spite, was to live the country for better education as a Fulbright fellow, having in mind that I will be back in few years to work at the same College. And that is what happened so far. I do work at the same College for almost 33 years!

Making important choices in the areas of life and affecting factors:

Personal:

Child: Impulsive choice --Arousal is not in control

Adult: Rational choice - using experience - information. Also Impulsive -- those have temporary effect

Economic:

Rational consumer: Rationalize by money, economic value of money, information -- even wait for decision

Social:

Decision by all -- Approval by peers, recognized by family members, prestige

 Ecological:

Choices by all -- Choices based on environmental impact, impact on others, sustainability

--Choices/decisions are mainly based on life stages, personal psychology, rationality, and approval by others.

Dear Marg, I believe that we all make decisions in several ways including sudden impulses or heightened arousal, as well as by slow pondering.  It depends on the type of decision that we need to make and the significance on our lives as we view it.

An example in my life when I made a snap decision was 5 years ago.  I was happily teaching in school just 5 km from my home, and I was called for an interview for this job in a college 60 km from home.  I was allowed to ask a question, after answering the questions of 3 interviewers.  I asked, would I have more opportunity to do research.  The answer was 'Yes' and so I filled up the application form then.

Here is an abstract related to 'arousal improves decision': 'This paper proposes an alternative psychological explanation for bounded rationality. According to Herbert Simon, bounded rationality arises from human cognitive limitations. Following the suggestion of institutional economist John R. Commons, I argue that extremes in emotional arousal also contribute to bounded rationality. This idea is formalized and developed using the Yerkes–Dodson law from psychology. Examples from the popular press and the academic literatures of law, management and economics are presented to illustrate the impact of this type of bounded rationality on human behavior.'

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268199000025

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

One of the biggest challenges in today’s society is learning how to balance all of the different areas of our lives. A hundred years ago, life seemed simpler because people’s roles seemed more defined. Today, the world is much less predictable. The unspoken expectation is that in order to be a thriving, contributing, happy and successful member of society, we must be multidimensional at work and at home. Within our businesses, we must be able to manage and lead, create relationships with other team members, use technology to communicate, effectively manage costs, and work at lightning speed to stay ahead of the competition.

Similarly, in our personal lives, we must strive to be healthy in body and spirit, while also being a generous partner, an outstanding parent, an effective financier, a romantic lover, a best friend and a community leader. We live in a world where change is the order of the day. The challenge is that we sometimes forget the meaning of the change we’re striving to create.

Change is automatic, but progress is not. We are changing as a society, but are we really progressing in all the areas that matter most? And in our own lives, are we truly making progress in all the areas that are important to us?

Progress is the result of conscious choice. In making these choices, we must think beyond the moment and ask ourselves, “What will this choice ultimately create in my life? Where will it lead? Who will I become as a result?” To ensure you’re making choices that support you, you must first define the areas of life that are important to you and what you want from each one, before you create a plan for your time. Otherwise, how can you create a plan for your time if you don’t have a plan for your life? By doing this, you’ll stay focused on what you want to achieve, so you can experience true balance and efficiency.

These areas are called “Categories of Improvement.” They represent the areas of your life you want to continually focus on, measure and improve. These areas are so important that if they do not improve, the quality of your life will suffer; and conversely, if they do improve, you’ll become more successful and fulfilled than you ever imagined.

Categories of Improvement

1. Physical Health & Vitality

2. Emotional Strength

3. Family & Relationships

4. Financial Freedom

5. Spiritual Growth

6. Community Support

7. Outstanding Career

EXAMPLE: Time & Life Action Plan

1. What areas of your life are changing—but not progressing?

2. What are your main Categories of Improvement for your life? (see example above)

3. What are 1-2 results you are committed to achieve in each of your Categories of Improvement (i.e. “Lose 10lbs and keep it off” under the Category “Physical Health & Vitality”)?

Please, see the following link:

http://www.tonyrobbins.com/hour-of-power

I would like to quote the following:

“Tony Robbins provides an amazing vehicle for looking at your life, mapping out a mission, and determining what’s holding you back and what you need to move forward. Tony tapped into my soul and helped me see my life’s work more clearly.”

— —   Donna Karan, Legendary Fashion Designer

Dear Ljubomir,

Let me ask you a question related with your post. If it was politically motivated decision then why they allow you to leave the country? My understanding is that if it has political reason then only on the local level. Maybe somebody in the college administration doesn’t like you.

Dear @Kazaros, they could not stop me to leave the country, I had a Fulbright scholarship awarded by American Government. Yugoslavia was open country at that time, but the influence of local and regional Communist officials was large in term of employment. That is what happened!

Dear Subhash,

what is the experience of your life where arousal brought you to choices that ultimately proved to be good, or bad?

Dear Discussants,

I greatly appreciated the experiences that you have wanted to share with all of us.

Please continue to provide other testimonies.

With all my biggest consideration.

Marg

What's good for me may not be so for the others!

Dear Ting Fa Margherita Chang,

1. I was very enthusiastic and confident when I was sending my first research paper in International conference abroad and paper accepted, I visited and attended the conference, gained tremendous confidence --- proved good.

2.  Out of the same enthusiasm and confidence, I got published my first research paper in one of the leading research Journal indexed on SCOPUS and having good impact factor -- good experience.

3. But, I lost prestigious commonwealth scholarship -- out of politics -- bad experience.

May be many more examples!

Thanks!

"The defeats and victories of the fellows at the top aren't always defeats and victories for the fellows at the bottom." B. Brecht

Excitement leads to self confidence and impulse. Unchecked impulse or over-confidence tends to lead to carelessness. Controlled and reflective interests generally leads to well defined path.

Yes, you are right, dear Ting Fa Margherita Chang.

Because, for defeats, top can held subordinates/followers responsible. But the bottom owns the responsibility of defeats. No alternate!

Dear friend, thank you so much for sharing this doubt. As they say, life is about choices ... and depends on the "I", "me" of each one, to choose this or that way. But it is up to each one enjoy the joy of the right choice or accept (and try to change) the destination if not enjoy the result. I think this is the nerve center of the choices. Humanity has not been able to cope well with the consequences of their actions (choices) and this is reflected in the "I", "me" of each individual, but also in the collective. I think that enthusiasm is valid, but it is always important a "test drive" or a "pilot project" before the most important choices.

You analyse carefully the case, just like religion, it is good for human, but because of that, it killed a lot of people. (Just a example)

When I finished my high school in 1970, my grade was 84% which was accepted for studying medicine, engineering …etc. I took the decision to study electronic engineering in Iraq. It did not work at once, so I returned home & took another decision to study sciences. While at home, I got news that I was accepted in Iraq & also I was accepted in India to study medicine at Delhi University (by an application which I sent but was not sure of being replied). I did not move to seize one of the 2 opportunities & I stayed with the option of learning sciences to specialize in chemistry later on. My hasty youth decisions have led to a path which I never dreamt of. However, my real settling & rest came when I was taught, in England, to “love” chemistry. My excellent teachers made chemistry very attractive & I realized its immense applications in life. Ultimately, I am satisfied that I have been “driven” to this discipline not by my free will but by what I call “divine intervention”. Soon I shall be a retired chemist & that is very fine for me.

Dear Ting Fa

Before I talk about my own experiences, I first make a distingo between the rational and the irrational When the rational dictates a choice and if last proves successful feeling in me is much less intense By cons when my choice entering through the irrational feelings are very strong felt like a blessing frankly I'm more of a primary emotional I always thought the choice of my heart than reason and only God knows how many times I have bathed in an immeasurable happiness

Sincerely

FADEL

The WDR 2015 holds new insights on how people make decisions; it provides a framework to help development practitioners and governments apply these insights to development policy.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2015

Arousal is something that is at times a requirement and at times vise-versa. When we are working towards a goal/objective/vision a positive arousal works as a self motivator, influencer and driver. However at negative times it does have the opposite reaction as well. So we need to first understand the arousal itself. Like in times of anger or downfall or feeling lost we should wait to get to normal stage or give us some time to make rational decisions rather than emotional decisions. So it can not only improve the main life choices but also destroy them. Its a tool of strength and weakness depends how use can master it...

Any rational optimisation, is based on some constraints, and sometimes the final result it is not nice at all. The only secured way is to incorporate a life experience and wisdom into a trained intuition, and use this intuition as a guide! 

That is "Not-easy-to-answer" question. Choices in one's life depends on so many factors affecting one's way of life. In general, making a choice may depend on two main factors: Brain wares and emotional influence. The former one may always leads to a rational choice and is long lasting, but the latter is a time-based volatile decision which may result in an interim choice that will not always be a rationalistic choice.

In my personal experiences, the choices that have been made based on brain wares, were always more reliable than those based on temporal excitements resulting from emotional status.

Dear Ljubomir,

It is interesting that Yugoslavia was not under the “iron curtain”.

I guess that it is important to understand the history in order not to commit the same mistakes. I also have some negative experience: up to late 80’s I was not allowed to assist conferences abroad. I and many others applied for a permission to assist some conferences and never receive any answer. I know for sure that it was not related with the fact that a person was a member of the communist party or not.

It should be clarified that science and higher education in the SU had certain autonomy. The party was controlling mainly the elections of presidents of the academies and rectors of the universities. The governance in the academies was strictly hierarchical. The scientific areas were divided and subdivided into various areas and the same was done in the territorial and regional level.

Say if A is proclaimed (unofficially) as the main expert in topology of the region X then almost nobody in that region can publish any work in topology without the permission of A. This unlimited power makes dominant guys very suspicious. Anybody who was suspected to be not obedient or suspiciously active was persecuted. In the cases of travelling abroad it was done by the so called Department one which was controlled by secret services.

The heightened arousal (excited/impulsive decisions) may or may not improve the main life choices. It depends on competence, psychology, behavior pattern, guts, etc used. The following versions:

I took three important decisions (impulsive) in my early career and in two -- successful and in one -- lost.

Two successful choices --(I) International conference --(II) Paper got accepted in International Journal.

One unsuccessful Choice --- Lost commonwealth scholarship -- due to politics and cheating --- but did Ph.D. from India on the same research topic.

These successful decisions/choices turned my career and life -- I achieved heights in my career.

Businesses, by using such choices/decisions -- enter first in the market and become the leaders.

So, such choices many times are superior than the rational one or conformity based one as rational choices won't allow businesses enter first than the competitors in the market.

Ask yourself  if your soul permits go ahead.

A very strong questions. Made me go in to life lived so far like a cinema. Thank you for raising this question.

I had taken a career shift some years back in to academics after 18 years in to sales function. Was it a impulse decision to be regretted later. NO. Although the decision was taken in an heightened emotional state.

I feel it depends on the individuals as an overall personality. Heightened emotional state would manifest it strongly. But the core attitudes and personality would be formed over a period of time and with life's experiences and largely rational approach.

I am still in search for a correct comment to this question. Have just shared what ever came to mind at the moment. 

An exceptionally good question. There are a few thoughts I would like to share.

1. Human mind has an intuitive capacity to observe and absorb information which it synthesizes in the sub-conscience. Many a times, we get the solution for the problem that we have been battling for weeks together in just a flash -  may be even in our dreams. Freud has extensively explored this aspect and therefore very little explanation is needed here.

2. These flashes of brilliance are not necessarily products of our own learning. But they can act as a powerful intuition, a force, that propels us to take a certain decision at a certain time. The best examples would come from industry leaders who have innovated and from the life of people like Warren Buffet who have converted an apparently negligible undertaking into an opportunity of life time.

3. These flashes occur when the mind is entirely lost in the search for the solution and is so intensely involved in the search that nothing else outside distracts it. Such a thing occurs in those who are devoted to their god - whatever He may be called - Sufis would be a very good example. The intensity with which they love god make them become one with what Rumi calls as 'the beloved'.

4. A classical example that I would like to cite is from WWII. Patton intuitively decided to turn the 2nd US Army by 90 degrees and march them due North a 100 miles. Including Gen Ike, no one believed that Patton could march a hundred miles in four days. But Patton believed that he can and he did. His 3rd Army reached Bastogne on 26 December 1944 slicing through German strongholds and the entire German counter offensive crumbled eventually leading to the German defeat. (This portion of the war is famously known as the Battle of the Bulge).

What you call as the 'heightened arousal' is actually the awakening of the conscious. When the intuitive conscious wakens, it can see through time and space. Great saints, scientists and even those of us who just love what they do usually manage to arouse this consciousness.

Hope this helps. Have a great day. 

Dear Ting Fa,

I agree with most of posts where  general comments on the topic are given.

So I would like to add something related with my experience. In my life I have made some important decisions which cannot be described as correct or rational from individual point of view but I am not ashamed of them. Usually these decisions are matured during months or even years. But for the definite move one needs some additional impulse. Suppose such a situation: a young researcher is told to divide obtained results into parts and to publish them during various years. If the beginner ignores such a strange advice then he will have difficulties in almost everything. The beginner cannot complain because scientists are most honorable and respected persons. To break the vicious circle one should be able to made “crazy” and “suicidal” decisions. For example, more than one year I was paid significantly less than stipulates the law. I can recuperate the money giving private classes without making noise but I decided to do it via justice. It was something never heard before. After all the bosses learn that I should be treated with more respect.

That is an outstanding and very regular approach of honest person dear @Kazaros! Role model for young researchers!

Dear Ljubomir,

How should be organized the governance of science? There are different models but it seems that no one really works.

There is no way to avoid politics and politicians due to the funding resources! Dear @Kazaros, let me know if you are aware of different experience! This is my point of view about state Research Institutes!

in 2010 i decided to buy bullet 350 (bike) ..but while achieving that i lost my all other enjoyments... i can think ... i achieved this or that or i can think i lost those days which i can enjoy with my friends...its just the way we think.....

i don't know how to response ... but i think .. it can improve or may be effect negatively.... there are so many answers of this question... the thing is our thinking , our philosophy, psyche, mind, equilibrium, control etc... it depends on person to person... a spiritualist, idealist can move according to the god's will... whereas a pragmatist or a naturalist move separately....

 in 2011 i decided to clear UGC NET (national eligibility test for lectureship) but i failed 4 times... at that time i prepared well... but failed each time... and in 2012 june i achieved it ...but at that time i was not enjoyed it ...becoz i lost its charm in such years... 

Dear Ljubomir,

It should not be considered that I am complaining. I consider myself as an observer who saw deficiencies of the system and consider that those things should be spoken out. Let me tell you another episode. Once I received a phone call at midnight. A colleague of mine told me that the new government of the republic is looking for a chief of the department of science of the state planning committee. The candidate should have my title, my age etc. My answer was: I agree. The next day I was appointed to the office. At that time I have applied for a sabbatical grant in Spain and decided that during one year I can dedicate myself to science funding. It comes out that I can also do politics. After one year I quit.

Very good story dear @Kazaros! I have realized that You are not complaining, of course.

Destiny decides our fate and every one move in that direction and get the results and failure. Otherwise there are person which can do better work then us but do not get opportunity. So we are fortunate if we are happy with our assignments and jobs and vise versa.

It is increasingly recognised that --- affect plays a crucial role in decision making/choices.

Dear Ting

In life choices depend on how you perceive the matter. For example, when you are marooned on an island, one may say that you have to choose between various options of survival and means of escape. But the actual choice is before that: do you want to survive or not?

Take my case. I developed diabetes when 58 years. The usual choice will be whether to take Insulin and eat more or Oral hypoglycemics and eat more. Many people ususlly go for Insulin and I think that early insulin is the norm now (why strain the pancreas? and the companies too like it) I decided that I had eaten very well, may be too well and decided that I want to eat very much less. So I went on a very stringent diet, eating very less (You can't imagine how less) just to keep 'Body and Atman' (Body too needs a capital letter, isn't it?) together!

So, in Life the first choice is between wants and needs, and stick with your needs; of course occasionally you have to give in to your wants too.

Narayanan