Recently, I picked up a book called The Social Animal. A key argument of the book goes like this – our subconscious is the most powerful part of the mind, and through it we make our decisions; the consciousness of the why comes later. It says the reason for this is because our emotional faculties are our decision makers. In the end, purely logical decisions do not exist. And then it goes on to prove this using some test cases.
I think it’s absolutely true. When people fall in love, they can’t explain it right away. They come up with reasons why they fell in love later, but in the moment, “We just knew.” …My problem is, “I just know” way too often. I’m tempted to feel like the research in this book validates my decision-making process–I live and die on instinct–but in reality, that predisposition leads to impatience. I have an over-active decide-o-matic.
One friend of mine said that she thought I was hyper-intuitive. She was one of those friends who had an uncomfortably accurate picture of me, so I took that “compliment” to mean that my intuition was like my mutant power, always nimble, always right. Of course, that’s not how it works. Rather, she meant that I rely on intuition well beyond what most would consider “good reason.” …You would think that a few break-ups, unnecessary expenses, and near death experiences would teach me a little self-restraint, yet I remain the fool who rushes in.
All that to say, I’m thankful that wisdom is built on the knowledge of one’s weaknesses!
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