From Plato to Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, countless wise men have advised us to make rational decisions. Put aside emotions! Compare the costs and benefits of your options. Pick whatever option yields the highest value for the least cost. But if this oh-so-logical advice is really the way to go, then why are the Captain Kirks of the world always boldly going where passion takes them, making decisions based not on reason but on courage, loyalty, love?
As it turns out, there are good reasons to logical Mr. Spock ranked second in command, while the more emotional Kirk was captain.
People who trust their gut over their brain often forge ahead with little information-risky, but at least they get somewhere. Folks with no faith in either their intellect or their instincts generally follow the path of least resistance: again, not an optimal strategy, but not paralyzing, either. Great strategists trust both intellect and instinct; they gather information until they feel they can make a good decision. But people who try to decide with the mind alone, who place no faith in their heart’s desires, are doomed to stall and fuss, compare and contrast, forever insisting that just a little more information will make the choice clear. It won’t.
A friend of mine once told me, “The body truth goes ahead of the mind lie.”
When we dither over a decision, our intellect tries to gain the upper hand, shouting, You’d better be sure! Keep your options open! Have you considered the implications? and so on. Fortunately, our bodies patiently persist in telling the truth. All we have to do is listen.
Check in with yourself: Does your life feel meaningful and on-purpose at the moment? If the answer is yes, your energy is invested in living your best life. But to the extent that you feel misery, your energy is asking to be reinvested. Misery literally means “the feeling of being a miser.” If you’re miserable, stop hoarding your life energy. Spend it now. Make a choice, any choice. If you’re still miserable, you can choose again. Eventually, you’ll see that all misery is simply life asking you to trade your current course of action-or inaction-for something purposeful and true.
“Are you in earnest?” says my dog-eared copy of Faust. “Seize this very minute. What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” This doesn’t mean you’ll never misstep. It means that when you trade indecision for choice, you’ll be rewarded with either success or education.
So feed your mind, but feel your heart. Trust in your truth. It will be the best investment we’ll ever make. Starting this blog is a way for me to check-in with myself to make sure I’m living each day intentionally. I once read that there are three things that make someone happy: to have someone to love, to have something to do, and to have something to look forward to.
Love,
Melissa
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