It was in 2012. I was leaving UAE to relocate to Malaysia. It was a heady time. Global markets were on a high, the global economic crisis was slowly becoming a distant memory, and real estate in the UAE was booming. One could buy a property today and sell it for a hefty gain in six months.
Just four days before I left, a friend pointed me toward a prime Burj-facing property. He called it “the investment of a lifetime” and suggested I put down 40% in cash and take a mortgage. “In 3 to 5 years,” he said, “you’ll double your money.” Acting on his enthusiasm, I visited the property. As luck would have it, two other potential buyers were on-site, and the broker added fuel to the fire: “Decide now, or you’ll lose out.”
It felt like buying a smartphone on a whim. Impulsively, I committed a substantial amount as an advance commitment, and, within two days, applied for a mortgage. The deal was sealed before I even had the chance to reflect.
Fast-forward to 2020, and the story took a grim turn. COVID hit, and the property became a financial drain. Monthly mortgage payments bled my salary, leaving me no choice but to sell. The market value had tanked, and I exited at a significant loss, sacrificing a chunk of my capital.
Life teaches us hard lessons. Looking back, this experience might seem like a story of greed overtaking sensible thinking. I could have paused, reflected, and applied reason, but instead, I ceded control to my impulses—ego, greed, and social pressure. I reacted without thinking and made a bad decision.
In the space between stimulus and response, two things can happen: you can pause and reason, or you can react impulsively. I chose the latter, and the consequences were costly.
The problem is that decisions made under emotional impulses rarely end well. My biggest lesson from this experience is that good decisions come from clear thinking—avoiding emotional reactions that override reasoning. It sounds simple, but it requires going against emotional defaults that have been hardwired since childhood.
How do I manage decision-making today?
I know I’m prone to emotional decisions, so I follow a simple rule: when a decision arises, I pause and resist reacting. I take time to distance myself from emotional impulses and think clearly. This practice helps me avoid the pitfalls of emotional decision-making.
Pitfalls Of Emotional Decisions
