Following The Heart vs Following The Mind
In the perfect world, our hearts and our minds would be on the same page about all important life decisions. They would agree on what to have for dinner, whom to date, and pursuing a career. Unfortunately there are far too many instances where the heart and mind want completely different things and for different reasons. The Mind often takes on the role of the logical one, helping you decide if it is a smart choice to do whatever it is you want to do. The heart on the other hand is often led by emotion, which as we all know can make it difficult to make a clear decision.
The mind can be like the angel on the shoulder telling you the right thing to do, while the heart is like the devil on your shoulder telling you to do the thing that might not make the most sense but might bring you the most happiness. Like many things in life, finding a balance between the two is your best bet for all around happiness. If you always follow your heart you may find yourself a glutton for punishment. Your heart is the one that tells you to have the ice cream sundae for dinner every night, while your mind is the one telling you that you do in fact have to eat a balanced meal.
Especially when it comes to your career, the battle between heart and mind can be strong. Your heart wants you to do a job that you enjoy and love and have passion for, while your mind knows that would be nice but also it isn’t always feasible to pay the bills and to have a successful life by simply just following passions.
The benefits of following your heart
Following your heart can lead to many opportunities that may otherwise be missed if you are following your mind. When you follow your heart you choose to make a decision before you think of the consequences, which allows you to have opportunities that may be missed if you take the time and talk yourself out of doing it. Once your mind gets involved in things they lose the spontaneity and joy that come along with simply following your heart.
Your heart is more of the carefree, easy-going part of the thought process that allows you to follow a passion or go down a route that may not make sense but just feels right. People who follow their heart are the ones who often feel fulfilled in their careers and life, and feel like they are making a difference in the world around them. Especially in a workplace sitting following your heart can lead you to be happier and better adjusted then if you are meticulously calculating every move you make. Sometimes, the greater risk can lead to the greater reward.
The benefits of letting your mind lead the way
There is often far less risk in making decisions that your mind has influenced. The Mind lets you weigh the pros and cons, think of potential consequences, and look at it from a more logical perspective. Those who are afraid of taking risks find that letting their mind make decisions puts them at more ease than if they don’t let their mind make the decisions. Taking the time to weigh the risks and look at all the pros and cons can help you to make a better-informed decision that may ultimately help you in the long run.
When you let your mind to make a decision chances are it will be a well-thought-out, well-researched and well-informed decision. This means it is likely going to help you decide whether or not what you’re choosing to do is a smart choice or not, it can also be more comfortable to choose something that you know is safe based on how you’ve weighed your pros and cons. Especially in the workplace, following your mind can lead to fewer failures and leave you in a more stable position.
Finding The Sweet Spot between your mind and your heart
The ultimate secret to finding success is finding the good balance between both following your heart and following your mind. This can be a challenge but it is ultimately worth it in the end when you have a well-informed decision that you can also be passionate about and feel like you’re doing something that truly makes you happy. Perhaps this means pausing before just jumping in and thinking about what the consequences of doing so are. If you are able to identify the consequences and still want to do it or have a way to address said consequences if you do jump in you may have found a good balance.
You also can’t always let the logic overpower the freedom that comes with following your heart. Some things are meant to be carefree and if you have good coping skills that should following your heart not end as planned, you can use your mind to figure out a way to read direct and ultimately do both follow your mind and your heart. Letting your brain keep you in line while you follow your heart can also help you to not spiral too far into making poor or risky choices that could adversely affect your life or career. You can let your heart do the driving but it never hurts to consult your mind as the Navigator every now and then to make sure you stay on track and on course.
The heart and mind while often wanting to go in different directions can become a very powerful Duo once they learn to work together. Bouncing off of each other and using the benefits from both to decrease the negatives from both make for the perfect combination. Let them be a team rather than letting one always take the lead and you will find yourself in situations that are both well-thought-out and allow you to follow your passions. The heart and the mind can work very well together.
