Stop Rationalising: Thinking Is Robbing The Joy You’re Owed
In my humble opinion, I believe we think too much.
And for reference, I am the furthest thing from an over-thinker.
My internal emotional and circumstantial filter is always on, and constantly on overdrive.
That’s just who I am.
I’m quite unfazed and unaffected by the majority of things.
And even when I am, I can regulate them quite quickly.
It’s a quality I’m quite proud of.
But, despite all of that, I still think too much.
And not about how the colleague I spilt water on three weeks ago looked at me in the corridor earlier.
Or, how I looked when I stalled in front of a sea of people giving me way.
No.
I think about my future.
The things I want to do.
Whether they’re truly the things I want to do.
I think about my relationships.
Whether they’re truly ones that will be lifelong.
I scrutinise the things I hold dear.
When it comes to things I should experience, I choose rationalisation.
And more often than not, it drives me away from them, not towards them.
Simply because they determine my life.
They’re risky.
On the other hand, whether one of my colleagues has it out for me, means nothing to me in the grand scheme.
But that’s the issue.
I think we all think too much,
And don’t experience enough.
Especially, when it comes to our dreams, goals and passions.
The important things.
How often have you sought someone’s opinion or advice before you tried something or visited somewhere?
I have.
And I see the merit; trying something littered with good reviews is efficient and safe.
Hey, most of us can’t even help it.
According to Leonard Mlodinow,
“Studies show that flowery modifiers not only tempt people to order the lyrically described foods but also lead them to rate those foods as tasting better than the identical foods given only a generic listing.”
Just a vivid description is enough to skew our judgement.
So, what of credible recommendations or five-star reviews?
Obviously, they affect our judgement!
The only way to find out for yourself is to try and experience.
Ignore the aesthetics, the adjectives and the reviews.
Go out and try!
The merit behind trying is that it opens doors you could never have imagined.
It introduces smells, encounters, sights, feelings and experiences completely foreign to you.
Why?
You stepped out of your comfort zone.
You opened the door to a new world with your own two hands.
I’ve written previously about the importance of trying and the pursuit of being wrong.
But there’s a significant difference between your imagination and reality.
The best example is myself.
I think too much about my future and what I want — since I know myself best, right?
Wrong.
It’s almost been a week since I started my internship, and the biggest thing I’ve learnt is that I was wrong.
I couldn’t have ever fathomed what this experience would’ve been like if I’d been given 10 years to ponder.
I was SO far off.
I genuinely contemplated whether or not this profession was for me (law), for hours.
But as the famous idiom goes, ‘experience is the biggest teacher.’
I’m loving it.
I love the mental challenge.
The work environment.
The culture.
The opportunity to grow and be better.
The feeling of being dumb.
I love it all!
And if I had listened to my head, I never would’ve set foot in this internship.
I thought I knew best.
And experience taught me I didn’t.
So, rather than thinking, scrutinising and rationalising first,
When it comes to the things you’re passionate about — why not try first?
Experience it for yourself!
Go out and see the world with your own eyes?
Stop living through someone else’s lens.
Make your own opinions, experiences and conclusions.
Stop rationalising.
The only way to tackle the unknown is to pave your way through it.
LM
Thank you for reading!
American psychologist Alok Konojia, or ‘HealthyGamerGG’, says:
“The absence of reflection is the reason you’re stuck.”
To solidify our growth, let’s reflect:
Petrichor’s 1-Minute Reflection:
- How did you feel before reading?
- How did you feel whilst reading?
- Do you feel any different now that you’ve finished?
- What is your one takeaway from reading this?
