State-Check Before Self-Judgment
Check fatigue and alcohol before treating a feeling as a verdict
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 91%
After describing unusual emotional responses during recovery from a brain injury, Hammond explains a personal decision rule: he does not inspect what he thinks about important matters when he is extremely tired or the day after drinking red wine. His mechanism is not to deny the emotion, diagnose its cause, or claim that every feeling is false. Instead, he treats his current physical state as relevant context and postpones interpretation when he knows that context can make his reactions less dependable. The practical sequence is to notice the emotion, check for a known state such as exhaustion or a hangover, avoid converting the feeling into a major conclusion, and reassess later. This is a bounded self-management rule from Hammond's experience, not medical guidance.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01A feeling is real without necessarily being a reliable conclusion
- 02Physical state can alter emotional interpretation
- 03Delay major self-judgments when your state is predictably distorted
How to run it
- 1
Notice the reaction
Name the feeling or judgment without immediately acting on it.
Pro tip Write the thought down if you are likely to forget it.
- 2
Check your state
Ask whether fatigue, a hangover, or another obvious short-term condition is present.
Watch out Do not use this step to dismiss persistent distress.
- 3
Suspend the verdict
Avoid making a major conclusion about yourself, another person, or your future while the known condition persists.
Pro tip Distinguish postponing interpretation from suppressing the feeling.
- 4
Reassess later
Return to the thought after rest and compare whether its intensity or meaning has changed.
Watch out Seek appropriate help rather than waiting if there is immediate risk or a medical concern.
In the wild
Hammond says he does not tune in to what he thinks about anything for a day when he is very tired or has had a big night involving red wine. His recovery experience made him more cautious about treating every emotional surge as authoritative.
→ He postpones interpretation until the temporary state has passed.
Common mistakes
Treating every feeling as a verdict
The framework asks whether a known temporary state may be shaping interpretation before a conclusion is made.
Using delay to avoid care
A short reassessment rule should not become a reason to ignore persistent symptoms or urgent concerns.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for personal reflection and non-urgent decisions made during a predictably impaired state.
Not ideal for
It is not a substitute for professional assessment, urgent safety decisions, or persistent mental-health symptoms.
From the transcript
“I don't listen to my emotions too closely if I'm very very tired”
“if I've drunk red wine I do not tune in to see what I think about anything”
From the episode
Richard Hammond: The heartbreaking conversation that I am STILL avoiding!