(Battlefield Between Intuition And Logic)
Our mind is a battlefield, and each day there is a perpetual battle going on inside each one of us, a continuous war between our logic and intuition.
It can be from petty things such as clothes to wear, tea or coffee, to the most important ones such as which investor will bring more to the table. Ultimately, making a wise decision is necessary.
All these whether small or big make us merely go gaga. And our indecisiveness can either save or ruin our day, allow us to gain or miss an opportunity. According to Shahram Heshmat Ph.D., “Individual decisions are best understood as the interactions between reason and emotion. When we are calm, slow rational thinking guides our decisions. However, strong emotions place a constraint on clear thinking.”
Intuition And Logic
The way people make their decisions varies, whether it’s about choosing between a red or blue shirt, or staying in a job or starting your own small business.
According to a psychologist, every decision and judgment we make is a battle between our logic and our intuition. It’s a clash between that part of the mind that loves analyzing the problem and the part that feels responsible for our gut feelings.
But sometimes, it doesn’t make much difference because no matter how hard we try to rationalize things, our gut feelings always take the lead because our intuitive mind acts faster and is much easier to access that it tends to override our much slower logical mind.
Cognitive Bias
Glenn Geher Ph.D. says that, “Experts tell us that humans are poor reasoners. We fail miserably at rather simple conditional logic tasks.” Because of so many options and information available to us, our decision making takes a lot of our time, even if it’s just about the simplest thing. When it is necessary, we sometimes take this mental shortcut called cognitive bias.
Cognitive bias can be affected by social pressures, personal motivation, emotions, and mind’s limitation to processing the information. It is not at all bad. In fact, it can sometimes surprisingly lead us to make correct decisions, although sometimes it can also lead to wrong thinking.
Our Personality Type
A person sometimes lets an opportunity slip away because of his slowness in making up his mind. People in the business sector sometimes consider this as a weakness and poor leadership. Is this kind of thinking right?
Psychologists say that our personality can be a result of our four sets of preferences
- thinking and feeling
- sensing and intuition
- introversion and extroversion
- judging and perceiving
Whether you are someone who prefers a more structured or organized lifestyle (judging), or you tend to keep your options open (perceiving), it doesn’t really add up that much to making the right decision. Sometimes, the problem comes when you’re perceiving and continuously seeking more information; you end up never making a decision.
Pause With Your Overthinking
When you think your mind is tangled up with all the information, untangle it. Pause for a while, and then consciously and systematically consider the information you’ve gathered. Try to get back at it again with a fresh perspective and calmness. It will allow you to have a more rounded view that will likely lead you to a better decision.
Have The Confidence To Decide
Stop wasting time and opportunity, and build that confidence by following some of the tips below
- Stop wasting your time worrying about small things. We all want to get things done, so think of what’s important in your life. Think of the things that matter, things that need careful consideration. Is choosing the color of lipstick you’ll put on to impress someone more worth your time than deciding whether to leave your boring job and start that small business you’ve wanted all your life?
- Take time to gather information even if it’s something you need to decide on urgently. It is for you to be able to weigh the pros and cons of relevant matters.
- Decide when it’s time to make the decision. Are you that type who decides on impulse? Is there a need to rush the decision at this very moment? Is it that important? Before making any snap decision, why not practice trying to consider other options first, just like what I’ve stated in number two.
- Seek advice especially when too much information is slowing you down. Asking the point of view of the people you trust who’d been in that same situation before can help you make the most rational decision. Learning from their experiences can help you avoid making the mistakes they’ve done in the past. According to Gleb Tsipursky Ph.D., “Someone not burdened with the fears and concerns around the decision can bring a unique wisdom that can accelerate success.”
- Take on your priorities and base your decision focusing on them. Is it your family, your career, your future, or your health? Is it money or happiness?
- Consider adopting an adaptive path. It may be difficult but consider involving the idea of change (for the better) when trying to make a decision.
It’s tough, but we must start making better decisions, as we are caught up in that situation every day of our lives. No matter what your type of personality is, whether you’re someone who tends to put off making decisions or someone who does it on impulse, in the end, it is you who will benefit or suffer from your own decision. It is essential to be wise when deciding the path you want to take for you to arrive at that kind results you’re aiming.