Logic is illogical. Granted, there is something to be said for being logical, level headed, and steadfast. There is something, also, to be said for being responsible and weighing one’s options. However, let’s be realistic for a moment. When it comes to the most important decisions we make in life, we go with our instinct.

Forget the facts. Forget the reason. After all, how could you remember them when the electrifying current of emotion takes over and we are pulled to a conclusion?

Granted, there are those of you who insist that you remain logical through all decision processes, no matter how evenly paired the options are. However, consider a scenario in which two decisions before you were so evenly paired that a coin toss would be a fair decision maker. Assign one option to each side of the coin. Flip the coin. Before you ever look at the coin, you have your answer. It is inside of you, bursting to be said at this moment. For, whenever there is a coin toss, we always hope for one side. We cannot help it. That side that you hoped for is the true answer.

If you do not believe the validity of this experiment, I implore you to try it on a friend the next time they cannot make up their mind, without divulging the true purpose of the coin toss. Instead of telling the friend what side of the coin turned up, ask them what side they were hoping for. Mouth agape, they will realize that they were indeed hoping for one side to prevail, and thus have their answer.

Why is this, you ask? Why are even the most logical of individuals so swayed by emotions? Why are even the seemingly most evenly matched decisions not even within the deepest recesses of our being? It is because we have hearts—hearts which we should follow.

Now, this is not to say that every decision should be made on a whim. This is not to say that we should all frolic in the streets and forget our mortal obligations. This is, however, to say that when we are irrevocably torn, we should not beat ourselves to an analytical pulp over hypothetical outcomes. We should quiet ourselves until we can listen to which way we are truly being pulled.

Still cannot hear yourself beneath the racket of logic? Consider another approach. Focus on one choice for the course of an entire evening before going to bed. The following morning, ask yourself how you slept, and if your choice appeared in your dreams. Was your dream pleasant, or was it unnerving? Repeat the process the following night, though contemplating on the option before you. Evaluate your dreams again. Often, when we are torn over a topic, our dreams will give light as to how we truly feel on a subject. However, whatever you do, do NOT over analyze the dream. 🙂 the term is to “sleep on it,” after all, not “Freud on it.”

So the moral of the story? Follow your heart. Logic is illogical, anyways.