HEAD OR HEART?
"Never make permanent decisions on temporary feelings."
This thought has left me with plenty to ponder on. It brings out a constant dilemma – the head versus heart conundrum.
Selena Gomez -Yes, we all love your song. “The heart wants what it wants.” But, does it really know what it is in for? Can it practically pull it off all the time?
I constantly battle between head versus heart decisions. I am not talking about the miraculous times when the head and heart are both on the same page. Those times are something we should all be extremely grateful for because no situation can be more peaceful and irrevocable. I am speaking about the real clash between the head and the heart when they both want what they want – and that desire is, tragically, the opposite of one another.
Can there be a formula to deal with these kinds of situations? Can there be a formula to life at all, for that matter?
I practice a tactic that seems to be working for me so far. Let’s see how it changes and evolves over time and in unaccustomed situations.
I have made peace with following my heart when it comes to decisions that are temporary and could not potentially lead to life-changing consequences. This way, my heart is pleased and I am happy to follow it. It keeps my adrenaline rush high, helps me remain passionate and excited about the wonders that life unfolds, and makes me feel alive.
When it comes to the more permanent decisions in life – the head needs to take over. Simply because these perennial commitments need to make sense, they need to be definitive and measurable at some point, with a proper plan and its consequences laid out.
The heart is used to being a child, and getting away with it. Emotions are often evanescent. To make permanent decisions on these floating and fleeting feelings can be naive. At the same time, underestimating these feelings can be risky too – because they do have immense power. A big challenge is recognizing which emotions are transient and which ones are long-lasting.
Let’s compare this to gambling. When the stakes are low, being impulsive is fun and great. As the stakes rise, it is foolish to be anything other than logical and calculative.
The ideal solution is if there is a balance between the head and the heart. In that case, we are sorted. This post is primarily for the many circumstances when we are in a quandary and torn apart between the two.
My mantra is to let the heart take over for the little things and allow the head to take over for the big ones. Sometimes, it is hard to differentiate which are the small things and which are the big things – because the small things are often the big things and the big things are often the small things.
Let’s compare life to a strict school, where our heads are the stern rulebooks and our hearts the rule breakers. The head is the master, writer and regulator of the rulebook. The heart is the child in us that wants to break the rules, be carefree and just have some fun. Sometimes it is imperative to play the game and break the rules. However, keeping the consequences in mind, sometimes even unknown repercussions, is vital.