Category: Decision making

On what defines a rational

MornaDecision making

What defines rational peopleWhen I came up with the idea for Sensing Sage, about two or three months ago, I felt a huge rush of energy. Not only was I finally able to define myself, I would be able to reach other people who also combine rationality with intuition, and together we’d be one big happy online family. Then, as my pink cloud slightly deflated, I began wondering: are we, perceptive systemizers, truly a different type of people? My specific doubts were not so much about intuition, but much more about rationality. Is it even possible to be rational? Am I deluding myself? Is it purely a situational thing?

This week, several things happened that allowed me to re-evaluate. Since – though fairly rational – I’m absolutely terrible with making choices, I’m going to just write about all of them. Chronologically reversed, for no particular reason.

So the very first thing happened about half an hour ago…

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How the right mindset can improve your judgement

MornaDecision making

When it comes to having a good judgement, logical reasoning is super important: if you know A, it can help you get to B, C and so on. However, logical reasoning is only that – a way to get to knew places based on initial information and your knowledge of how the world works. So let’s say you know that A leads to B and you observe A – you can safely conclude B will happen. However, several things can go wrong in this scenario:

  1. You think you observe A, but it’s actually D. Or X. Which don’t lead to B at all!
  2. You think A leads to B, but in reality this is not (always) the case.
  3. Yes, A leads to B. Unless there’s also K, in which case A & K lead to Q. Unfortunately, you don’t know that, or you do know that but you don’t observe K and assume it’s not there.

In all of the above scenarios, if you’d conclude B – you’d be wrong. Continue reading “How the right mindset can improve your judgement” →

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How to tell intuition from emotion

MornaDecision making

Have you ever asked someone for advice, only to hear the well-know “follow your heart”? What the hell does that even mean? Of course, if you’d actually ask someone what they mean by this cliche, you’d most likely hear something along the lines: “do what feels right”. You know what feels right to me? Cats. Cats are soft and warm and feel perfectly right. But that’s probably not what people mean, is it?

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Why intuition matters

MornaDecision making

Ever heard people say logics and intuition don’t go well together? I have. In fact, I’ve got multiple intuitive friends who say “society places way too much emphasis on ratio”, as well as rational friends who argue “reasonable people should not rely on their intuition”. It is as if ratio and intuition are mutually exclusive. But they are not. In fact, they very much work together in helping us navigate through life. Unfortunately, there are lots of misunderstandings about both concepts, so let’s look at them in more detail.

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How to reduce anxiety and make better decisions?

MornaDecision making

Have you ever read ‘The Circle’ by Dave Eggers? I thought it was pretty shitty, honestly, but there is this one part that resonates with me:

“(…) what had always caused her anxiety, or stress, or worry, was not any one force, nothing independent and external- it wasn’t danger to herself or the constant calamity of other people and their problems. It was internal: it was subjective: it was not knowing.”

Throughout my life, moments that has caused me most anxiety were usually related to decision-making and not knowing what the better choice would be. Should I… get a divorce? … take this job? … buy this house? … get a degree in this subject? … stay friends with this person? I’m going to admit something here: I am absolutely terrified of making wrong decisions (sometimes I contemplate a menu for 10 minutes, wondering which dish will be best). As my decisions have more impact, the fear of making the wrong decision increases. Sounds familiar?

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