“But It Feels So Real”
- The Path Team
- Apr 14
- 2 min read
In thick fog, even your own shadow can seem like a threat.
What Emotional Reasoning Looks Like
Emotional reasoning happens when you believe that because you feel something strongly, it must be true—even if the evidence says otherwise.
You feel anxious before a meeting and conclude, "This meeting is going to go terribly."
You feel guilty and decide, "I must have done something wrong."
You feel lonely and tell yourself, "Nobody cares about me."
Instead of treating emotions as signals to examine, this kind of reasoning takes them as final proof.
Why the Mind Slips Into It
Shortcut instinct. Feelings are fast. They arrive long before logic has a chance to weigh in.
Urgency bias. When emotions are strong, they feel urgent and demand action or belief.
Old habit reinforcement. If you learned early to treat feelings like facts, the pattern becomes automatic under stress.
(Many believe this pattern forms from emotional habits shaped early in life—and possibly from instincts that once prioritized fast reactions over careful thought. For a deeper look at where wrong thinking comes from, read Where Wrong Thinking Comes From.)
But Reason reminds us:
Feelings are real, but they are not rulers.
They are visitors—not verdicts.
The Hidden Price You Pay
Poor decision-making. You act based on fear, anger, or shame—not reality.
Self-sabotage. You stop yourself from good opportunities because temporary emotions say you're not ready or worthy.
Strained relationships. Reacting from pure emotion often damages trust and clarity between people.
When you trust the fog over the facts, you wander off the real trail.
Working Through It—What Often Helps
Many men find it helpful to walk through a few steady checks when they catch emotional reasoning happening:
1. Catch the Emotional Claim. Notice when your mind says something must be true just because you feel it strongly.
2. Examine the Evidence. Ask: "What actual facts support or contradict this feeling?" Name at least one piece of real-world evidence outside your emotion.
4. Reframe It. Shift the inner dialogue:
"I feel worried—but that doesn't mean disaster is certain."
"I feel guilty—but that doesn’t automatically mean I did wrong."
"I feel discouraged—but that doesn’t erase my real progress."
5. Bring in Reason.
Remind yourself: "Feeling something doesn’t make it fact."
Step back and ask: "What would I see here if I were steady, calm, and clear?"
Reason pulls you out of the fog by reminding you that truth stands even when emotions scream otherwise.
Simple Practice (No Paper Needed)
If a strong emotion hits today:
Pause.
Silently ask yourself: "What do I feel?" and separately, "What are the facts?"
Let both have a place—but let facts guide your next step, not the feelings alone.
Even this small act begins to retrain your mind to separate weather from landscape.
Closing Thought
When the fog is thick, every sound and shadow seems more menacing.
But steady travelers learn: not every crash in the bushes is a wolf.
Sometimes it's just the wind.
Sometimes it's nothing at all.
Walk influenced by light, not by the ghosts conjured in the fog.
This article is part of the Fog on the Path series — exploring the hidden traps that cloud judgment. See the full series here.