The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
Whether you are more logical or emotional when making decisions, this post is for you.
Personally, I tend to be highly logical. When it comes to goals, this logic served me pretty well through solid extracurriculars, a computer science degree, a career in big tech—did I mention I like logic?
However, I had no idea WHY I was doing anything.
I was going in a direction, but I could not tell you what it was all for. The real, hard, authentic, deep reason why. It only began to make sense when I took a significant step to pause and truly pay attention to what I actually felt.
I found that Einstein was right.
This isn’t an exact science, but here’s a framework you can use to balance emotions and logic when it comes to making decisions and taking action.
Emotions are very important when it comes to decision-making. Scientists have found that it’s actually very hard for humans to make decisions without the emotional processing parts of their brains.
But as we all know, humans experience fluctuating emotions every day, every hour. How do you determine which ones deserve attention and which to ignore?
How do you balance self-care with the hustle grind?
I like visuals so I made a very professional graph.
Your emotions probably will look like a very non-linear squiggle, fluctuating possibly day to day. You want to smooth this line out, and figure out the macro trends to take action on.
One way to balance is to plan and direct with emotions but execute with logic. On a day-to-day basis, stick to your plan and trust your direction.
Take action first. Once you pick a direction, ignore the mood swings and doubt that come as you go. However, pay attention to when your emotional responses build up your emotional intuition, or a “gut feeling.”
It’s okay and necessary to course correct as well.
Respond slowly to emotions and respond quickly to logic.
Look at emotions through a logical lens, but also reflect on your logical actions with an emotional lens.
How You Can Take Action
I have anxiety and tend to respond instinctively with second-guessing. If you relate, ignore the feelings temporarily, react slowly, and simply take some action. Notice if intense anxiety persists beyond that point and adjust.
Try asking yourself:
How does this career choice/relationship/new experience make me feel?
List every single emotion, not just your first reaction. Is it anxiety/stress with some excitement? Or just anxiety alone? Chase the moments of excitement, as opposed to avoiding all stress. There is such a thing as good stress.
Practice sitting with yourself and pay attention to how you feel. Give yourself time and emotional space to do this. Some of my biggest realizations actually came to me after I finally just let myself rest.
What is the practical purpose of this career choice/relationship/new experience in relation to my goals?
Write down all your goals and “what-ifs.” Short, medium, long term. Work backwards and figure out what needs to be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to get closer to those dreams, despite how you feel each day.
Beyond just making you feel good, relate this experience to your long-term trajectory. Are you doing something relaxing to achieve more balance or broaden your experiences? This is an important distinction from using it to escape or avoid.
Understand the WHY behind an action or experience—both logically AND emotionally, to gain the most clarity on your decisions.
Let intuition and emotion be the guiding compass. Then employ logic to get yourself there.
Hi, I’m Kat! Welcome to my newsletter—your weekly dose of mindset, perspective, and mental health for sustainable success.
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— Kat