Will you make better choices in life if you let your heart decide rather than thinking about it?

Question

For example, it seems that when I was left to make my own choices, usually after 16 years old, whenever I doubted what my gut said, I usually made bad choices, or choices that hurt me. The choices where I ignored my gut was due to having pride.

Can following your heart seem reckless?

I had to learn to trust my (heart/gut/intuition) when it told me something, even if I couldn't somehow validate it at the moment. That's why you have to trust it.

From my experience, your heart knows what you really want whereas your heart may think it knows what you really want, and when you go with your heart, you are usually satisfied with the choice because your heart knows the truth. When you go with your head, you may end up with a less than optimum choice.

Answer 1

I guess it would all depend what the choice is. Sometimes, you have to let your heart override all other decisions if it came to loved ones, and I guess that that would include something that you really love to do.

Being impulsive and making those decisions with the heart, is far better off then constantly re-thinking, over-analyzing and driving yourself crazy about what you need to do, or what society says is right.

I live a little, I do both. Mainly with my heart. I do what I desire and what my family desires. If I have to think about something to long, then I shouldn't even do it. I am a quick thinker, don't look at every single angle of the issue. It is either I do, or I don't. I have not made any bad decisions for myself and family, and I tend to keep it that way. What ever works, right?

Enjoy life, and do what you feel is the best thing to do. Decide with your heart once in a while, you will be amazed how great it feels.

Answer 2

What a great question! I have found in the past that when the situation is overtly emotional, using my head is the answer the served me best. For instance. . .If you fall in love with a drug dealer, chances are that as much as you love them, you would be best served to follow your head and detach from that person as soon as possible. Your heart may ache for a period of time but, your head will most certainly ache even longer if you stay in love with that person.

Inversely, Finding yourself in a business situation where your company must make shrewd business deals that swindle people out of their homes and money might make you top dollar, but chances are your heart would tell you that doing such things might be morally wrong. In this case, I would follow my heart.

Most always, situations tend to be speculative and require some thought. I have found that if you play out the pros and cons you will most always come to right answer (which in some cases is your gut instinct :) Good Luck xoxox

Answer 3

I think decisions are usually made by combining both the heart and the logical mind. If one totally controls your decision you may not do as well. I think of the heart as instincts, which we developed over thousands of years, they helped us survive so they have some validity. Thinking brings in what we have learned in school, life etc and we can reflect on choices we have made in the past and helps us determine what weight to put on heart vs thinking.

Answer 4

The heart is deceitful above all things. When I follow my heart, I usually make decisions based off emotions, usually sporadic heat of the moment decisions that I end up regretting. Where as if I stop and think about what my "heart" is yearning, I usually end up going against it, making the better decision.

Answer 5

That's a good question, but a tough one. I think you need to balance both your head and your heart. After all, decisions aren't just about what you want, other factors (and other people) will come into them.

But if there are no strong arguments for or against a course of action, or everything seems evenly balanced, I'd say go with your feelings.

Answer 6

I tend to follow my heart, but that's still a 50-50 shot.The gut feeling works good, a little better then the follow the heart.
There is a saying, "Think long, think wrong." I find this to be more true then anything.
Good luck.

Answer 7

You'll make faster choices. At some point you might lose confidence in your spontaneous heart choices and become a chronic analyzer in order to avoid past mistakes. Model from "Within The Wall of Denial": Feel--Act=Vitality, Think--Act=Accountability, Think--Feel=Insight.

Answer 8

I think it needs to be a combination of both. For example, you might really love a guy, but he beats you up every day. Do you leave him? Your heart says no, because you love him & have this illogical belief that he'll change his ways one day. But your head says "don't be stupid girl, & get the hell out of there!"

So, a combination of both would be to discuss how you feel, your love for him & how his behaviour is killing you [heart], and ask him to get help for his anger, to save your realtionship [head].

If he refuses, then your heart will tell you to give him another chance, whereas your head tells you to leave him. Most people tend to be ruled by one or the other, I try to combine both.

Answer 9

No, but neither will you make better decisions using reason alone. Good decision making and acting requires a balance of the emotional self and the rational self. Too often emotions override our common sense and make us irrational and without forethought. But, if we are only about reason, then we are inhuman and without the essential components of humanity. Some situations, however, require more of one side than the other, but, all in all, both are essential to making good choices.

Answer 10

Good question. IMO, generally a person should follow their first instict as it is usually correct. We tend to overthink and rationalize everything. How many of us have missed out on great opportunities because we had to spend so much time thinking about it that we thought ourselves right out of it? Truly successful people act on their instincts and don't let anyone tell them they are wrong or that they are going to fail.