Rationality Doesn’t Exist and Why Being Reasonable Is Key in Life
Why good reasons are the most important thing when making decisions in life
I am currently studying at a university. And with the knowledge and facilities I received comes the bill. I have to take a student loan, and it is a considerable sum of money.
The good news is the interest is low enough to spread the payment. I can also spread it for as long as 20 years. It is the financially correct way to do it. If my debt interest rate is 5%, my money works better if I pay the minimum monthly amount and invest the difference with a higher yield investment medium. It is the rational thing to do. It gives to the maximum value for my money.
But I choose to finish my loan ASAP. I plan to finish it in 3 years. Am I being irrational? Maybe. Am I opting for the worse scenario? Maybe. Do people tell me I pick the wrong/worse option? Yes. Should I listen? Yes. Should I change my plan? I don’t think so.
The thing is that I don’t need to be rational about it. I don’t need to pick the best value-for-money option to get by. This is not like choosing between paying it upfront or running away to another country with debt. It is only a matter of how I decide to pay the debt.
I want to finish off my loans ASAP to free my mind from the monthly payment sucking my balance right after receiving my salary. I just want the peace. And for me, peace of mind is as good as — if not better than — the money generated from the opportunity I could have seized.
Another story is from a friend. He had a better option for his university; he chose the “worse” one — of course, in my dumb opinion. I clearly remembered the night when I told him that he deserved better. He should have picked the better university. I believed that he was too good to be there, and he had a better option already in hand.
I was rational. He wasn’t. Did that make me the right one? No, not in a thousand years. It only made me sound like an asshole. I didn’t even ask for his reasons. Did that make him the right one? I don’t know. What does being right mean anyway? What mattered most was that he was happy with the decision. That is it, people, being happy with the decision and taking responsibility for it. That should be the goal.
We are too different to be rational — according to many people with differing opinions
We are humans. Humans are complicated. One story might be interpreted differently by the audience watching the same show at the same timing and location. Why? Because we do not have the same understanding of the world.
He was born in a third-world country. She was born in an advanced country. My happiness might not be the definition of your happiness. Your misery might be the best thing that could happen to someone else. My definition of being rational is different from yours, and your definition mine.
Stories drive us, and by stories, I mean memories. Everyone has their own memories, dating back to the day we could first remember. Hence, the way we decide might be a little bit different from one to another.
Even though we have the same algorithm to solve a problem, the input will vary greatly across the world. Why? Our memories help us make decisions — consciously or not.
Why do people buy fancy cars instead of investing? Maybe it is their dream. It is what they want since they can remember.
Why do people hate airplanes? Maybe someone they love was in a plane accident.
It is difficult to be rational, according to the standard put by random strangers. My definition of being rational will be different from yours. That is why being reasonable is the best thing we can do. It is ok if you think my decision is wrong, but I have my reasons.
We just have to be reasonable
Being reasonable means weighing everything, tangible and intangible, visible and invisible, to the equation.
When you want to buy that designer bag, you should have good reasons to justify your position.
When you decide to go to a prestigious university, you should have supporting reasons to justify such an expense.
Being reasonable does not mean just having reasons. Being reasonable means having good and logical reasons.
If you want the fancy handbag out of the blue, it might not be a good reason. If you have been drooling over it for a few months, it might be a better reason to justify the purchase.
If you go to that expensive school for the sake of it, it might not be a good reason. If you go there to mingle with wealthy and powerful people, it might be a better motivation to justify the expense.
We must think before we decide our next moves. And during the thought process, we must include our feelings, emotions, stress level, energy, motivation, and whatever we can think of. Eventually, we will end up with reasons that are good enough to make a decision.
We help ourselves by being reasonable
Being reasonable is also easier than being rational. When we have good enough reasons, we do not need to evaluate the plethora of other options. By removing all the excess options, we prevent ourselves from encountering decision fatigue.
Here is a study case that you often encounter in your life.
Remember when you choose which phone to pick? You compare all the specifications: memory size, screen size, RAM, whatever. It takes you days or weeks to decide. You weigh the options carefully because you want the best value for your hard-earned money. Now you have the new phone. Now you can go back to scrolling Instagram and watching youtube in peace. Are you being rational? Hell yes. Are you wasting your time? Hell yes.
Now try being reasonable. You know you will use your phone mainly for emails, instant messaging, browsing Instagram, and watching youtube. You go to the store, look and feel a few phones. Then, you see the one you really like. It feels nice to hold, the camera isn’t bad either, and it is good enough to do the things you want to do with your new phone. Voila, you buy the new phone. Are you being rational? Hell no. you have so many options you haven’t weighed or looked at. Are you wasting your time and energy? Not at all.
It is easier being reasonable. It is the more viable option in the long term. It puts you in fewer dilemmas. It is good for you. Being rational is hard. It takes time and effort.
Sometimes we overthink, and taking actions seems insurmountable. The fact is that more often than not, we need to pick one, and to do that only needs some good reasons.
Being reasonable does not mean you are right
Being reasonable does not make you a better person. It does not help you make better decisions. It does not help you make the right decisions. But it does help you make decisions better.
When you include your feelings when making decisions, you will be happier.
When you include logical thinking when making decisions, you will make good decisions. When you make good decisions, you will be happier.
When you face fewer dilemmas, you will think less. When you think less, you can think more about something that truly matters. When you put more thoughts into the more important parts of your life, you will be happier.
Eventually, we don’t need to be right all the time, right?
