Feeling and wanting are two mental functions that play a large role in how we think. Feelings refer to our emotional states, such as happiness, sadness, anger and fear (Shapiro et al., 2009). Wanting refers to our desires for things, such as material possessions or experiences. When looking at how these two functions impact thinking it is important to note the ways in which they influence decision making and overall motivation.
Our feelings can have both positive and negative impacts on our thinking. Positive emotions can provide inspiration and drive motivation when faced with obstacles such as academic or work related tasks (Gruber & Marecek, 2017). This could involve things like feeling excited about an upcoming project or feeling inspired after hearing a particularly moving story. On the other hand, negative emotions can lead people to make decisions that lack logic or reason because they are not considering facts over their own subjective feelings (Bentz et al., 2018). For example, someone might be so angry about something that they act without considering the consequences of their actions.
How do the functions of “feeling” and “wanting” impact our thinking.
Wanting has an even greater impact on our thinking than feeling does because it involves actively seeking out what we desire. It is often thought of as having a “goal-oriented” approach where we identify what we want most and strive towards achieving it (Klein et al., 2017). For instance, if someone wants more money then they might take steps like setting up a budget plan or investing in stocks in order to reach this goal. Similarly, if someone wants better grades then they might create study plans or join tutoring programs aimed at improving their marks. In both cases wanting drives us towards finding solutions for reaching the desired outcome whereas feeling may just cause unnecessary distraction from actually getting there (Seidman & Seiffge-Krenke , 2020).
In conclusion, feeling and wanting are two psychological functions that affect how we think by influencing decision making processes as well as providing motivation when faced with various challenges. Both serve distinct yet equally important roles in helping us reach our goals while maintaining balance between emotionality and logical reasoning along the way (Woods et al., 2019).