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On Making Important Decisions
"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is
only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is
invisible to the eye." -- Antoine De Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince.
I have been toying with this idea for quite sometime now. I want to make a
simple guideline for making an important decision. In life, we are often
faced with situations when we are faced with different choices that are
mutually exclusive, that is only one choice can possibly be made and once
a choice is made, the benefits of the choices that were not taken will all
be foregone.
I propose a two-level decision-making process to handle this situation. I
suggest that we use our logical mind using the mathematical and
technological tools available to us to reduce the choices to a manageable
size possibly not more than two. Then out of the two remaining choices,
use your primitive, unconscious mind to select the option where your heart
feels less pain or that your heart will be happy about.
In the first phase of the decision-making process, we subject the options
to test for compliance with the physical and natural laws of the universe
to ensure that the alternatives selected would prove to be practical or
technically viable. This is to make sure that our feet are firmly grounded
on reality and that the options chosen can be implemented practically.
The second phase allows our own personal core to come into play enabling
ourselves to like or dislike any option, attach positive or negative
feelings to them and select the choice that we feel comfortable about
either by reducing our negative emotions or increasing the positive ones.
The process is very similar to when we are attracted to someone, seeking
no explanation or rationalization but just letting ourselves flow with our
feelings into liking that particular person. Another way of saying this is
to state that we use our hearts to select the option that we feel positive
and strong feelings about.
My proposal attaches greater importance to the primitive, unconscious mind
by awarding it the final say in the decision-making process. I feel very
strongly for the use of our gut feelings in making important decisions in
our lives. I have always believed that the conscious mind being more
sophisticated than the primitive mind can play tricks on us or even make a
fool of us by inventing all sorts of ideas or thoughts that can muddle our
thinking process. The primitive, unconscious mind, on the other hand,
contains in purest form our own personal core and defines ultimately who
we are.
Only our heart knows what is best for us. The heart does not know how to
tell a lie. It does not pretend to be rational but let ourselves celebrate
in our imperfect humanity, indulging in our passions, just letting
ourselves be who we really are. It is where we keep our deepest secrets,
our childhood dreams, our natural love of playing and having fun, our
angst, our tears, our joy and laughter. It only thinks of what is best for
us and wants us to have it. It doesn't know about failure or regrets, it
only wants us to be our unique selves.
So the next time that you are faced with an important decision, use your
heart to see clearly what is right for you. Trust your instinct for it
never fails to want for only the best for you.
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