I find the title of this article extremely disturbing, because it implies there are different types of thinking applicable in different situations. This fallacy is what keeps the vast majority of people from being good problem solvers. In some people’s heads, there is a magic rule that you can only think certain ways in certain situations. However, in a little place called reality, problems are problems, and they can all be addressed with honest, logical thought. (I did say “addressed”, not solved!)
Notice the qualifier “honest” in the previous sentence. “Honest” logical thinking means taking into account your own feelings, and those of others, when making decsions. Feelings aren’t special in any way; like time, money, and distance, feelings are simply another parameter in the equation. When we compartmentalize our thinking into “emotional” and “logical”, we cripple ourselves intellectually and emotionally. If we took the same apporach with out bodies as we do with our minds, we’d all be hopping on one foot! (You know, there are just times you need the left, and then sometimes right is better…)
Let’s look at the quintessential example of decision-making, shopping. Of course we’ve all heard of “buyer’s remorse”, and some of you may have even experienced it. As I understand it, buyer’s remorse results when someone makes an entirely emotional buying decision and later realizes they made a financial mistake. Aha! An example where purely logical thinking triumphs? Not so fast. I can tell you from personal experience that “cheapskates remorse” hurts. Recently, I passed up the opportunity to buy a prayer plant at an incredibly low price, rationalizing that I didn’t need any more houseplants (true), and I should be trying to save money (who shouldn’t?). What I didn’t factor into the equation was my own happiness. Prayer plants are beautiful. Esthetics aren’t logical, nor is the “nesting instinct” that makes a woman want to fill her home with collections of the things she loves. My desire to buy the plant was purely emotional, while my reasons for not buying it were wholly rational. And yet I hated the decision I had made. Too busy to go back to that store until a week later, I was just sure the plant would be gone. To my delight, it was still there and I rectified my mistake; my new botanical buddy is currently displaying its charms in the half bath.
So am I saying feelings are all that matter when shopping? Of course not! I walked away from a much healthier and larger prayer plant with no regrets. Why? Because it cost $24 instead of $6. I am in no way setting myself up as a model of perfect decision-making; like everyone else, I make mistakes. However, the decisions I am most happy with are all the result of using my feelings and intellect synergistically. The price of an item relative to its value is one consideration. In fact, it is the first consideration. The practical use I have for the item must be examined as well. However, in the end the most important question is this- Given my feelings, finances, and needs, will I be happier in the long run with the item or without it? That’s not a question that can be answered with calculations or technical specifications alone.
As you’ve probably guessed, I’m not actually talking about shopping, or prayer plants. (Although they do have gorgeous leaves.) Shopping is an example of decision-making, but more importantly, it is a metaphor for all decision-making. Regardless of whether you are choosing something as trivial as a plant or as serious as a spouse, there is no decision that can be made solely by reason or emotion. The mind of a problem solver, like they body of an athlete, functions best when in balance, with each part doing it’s job.
