Emotions Hijack Every Decision You Make—Here’s How to Pause

You’re midway through your afternoon and your phone beeps—another terse message from your boss. Instinctively, your heart hammers, your shoulders tighten, and you fire off a sharp reply before thinking. An hour later you wince at what you’ve sent. Sound familiar? Emotions have a way of hijacking us, altering what we see and hear. We mistake anger for truth, impatience for urgency, envy for reason. But imagine if you could hit the brakes for just a moment—cultivate a mindful pause that stops the hijack in its tracks.

Sarah, a mid-level manager, began scheduling random sixty-second check-ins on her calendar. Each time she paused to name her feeling—frustrated, anxious, even bored—and took a measured breath. She noticed that most impulsive emails came right after she’d rushed between meetings. Labeling her frustration and breathing out six counts gave her enough space to craft thoughtful responses.

Neuroscience shows that pausing activates the prefrontal cortex, helping you override the amygdala’s fight-or-flight impulse. By consistently interrupting emotional cascades, you regain clear judgment and avoid patterns of regret. Over weeks you’ll see how much calmer you feel and how your relationships improve when your reactions align with your intentions, not your emotions.

You’ll weave these pauses into your daily routine like stretching between tasks. When your phone buzzes or your calendar alarm rings, stop talking, take a breath, and ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now?” Acknowledge it, then exhale fully and frame your next move calmly. Practicing this habit three times a day rewires your brain to default to clarity instead of chaos—give it a try before your next snack break.