Monday, July 6, 2009

Head vs Heart


I have been thinking about this topic all weekend. When making decisions we are always considering following our hearts. Then there is the thought about following our heads. I always find it amazing that there can be such a difference from following our hearts rather than following our heads. Some people may do this easier than most. They can balance the two factions within us. I am not sure that I have done a great job of this.

I am a person who just thinks way too much. Yet, I seem to follow my heart way too much when it comes to love and life. My head takes a back seat sometimes because many times I follow what feels right to me. The more I think about it, I seem to do that a lot. Especially, with my students. As hard as I can be with them, I seem to give them chances at redemption with either employment or grades. I like to think that I generally care and maybe I do, too much.

When I do not act with my heart, I will analyze my choices and decisions so much. I try to justify something I have done and thus overload my brain with thoughts. I have made many decisions based on the what I thought was right rather that what I felt was right. Of course when that happens I become OCD. I starting thinking about "what if" scenarios, which is never good.

To be honest, I would rather make a decision based on heart rather than head. I have always been that way. I tend to not have a headache when I make a wrong decision that was based on something I thought about, but when I make a wrong decision based on heart...then well I get into a whole world of heartache. However, despite the chance of heartache...the rewards for successfully following your heart tend to be greater.

Not to say that I don't get a heartaches from making a mental mistake. It just easier to get over. When I talk about heartaches, I am talking about the feeling that we may all get, that is right in middle of our chest that no drug can take care of. To me, that is one of the worse pains I can go through. My estimation is a broken heart is worse than a migraine. At least with a migraine I can sleep it off, not so much with heartache. The pain from a broken heart seems to last for a very long time.

I bring all this up because it seems like death is all around us these days. We tend to forget the little things in life that bring us joy. We tend to take for granted the people in our lives because we simply believe they will always be there. Nothing hits more than reading Lisa Marie Presley's blog about Michael Jackson. It is never too late to tell someone you care about them. While I personally believe life can be long...not everyone gets to live a long life. Steve McNair is a great example of that. He was a year older than me!

Lord knows that I have been trying to live my life for me over the last few months. There have been times that have been difficult and challenging. Opportunities will continue to appear at my feet, but sometimes I wonder if following my heart at this stage of my life is still the smart thing. I think that I have gone down paths that I have still not fully recovered from, so why follow my heart now? Right now my head is steering the ship in my life. My heart is taking the backseat, I just wonder if that changes the person I am.

5 comments:

Jeri said...

always follow your heart. always. it will never steer you wrong. just make sure you really listen to what its saying. butterflies in the stomach, which we seem to think is a good thing, can actually be a warning sign- anxiety, so just make sure you know what your heart is saying and you will be just fine =)

Georgia Peach said...

I agree with Jeri (as someone who thinks too much and follows her head too much). Life is much better that way even if you do have some heartaches it means that you have at least lived. You've got me thinking about this seriously now.

Brooke said...

I think in order to follow your heart, you have to be in tune with yourself, honest with yourself and healthy emotionally. Some people who are on an emotional roller coaster don't always make the best decisions with their heart. That is where your analytical side, your logical side should kick in.

I know it's always a bad idea for me to make decisions when I'm hurt, emotionally drained or even overjoyed. That being said, when I'm still and in a good place, my gut instinct, my heart, is always right...always - it's never steered me wrong. I think the trick is knowing if you're in the right state to make a heartfelt decision, and then trusting it. It takes a lot of self evaluation, knowing yourself and being HONEST with yourself to know which to listen to and trust. Once you master that, you'll always make the right decision.

Anthony Otero said...

That is very interesting. I am the type to follow my heart, as I mentioned before. However, I never thought about in the way Brook put it.

Like most men, I consider myself a person who is has difficult controlling emotions. I wear my heart on my sleeve, which is not always a good thing.

So...considering that I always overthink things, being healthy emotionally was never a thought. Well, being honest with myself is all a part of letting go. I will have to think about this...while no thinking about it too much...lol

Unknown said...

while i agree with following your heart, since i am a true follower =) its so so so so painful when the feeling right in the middle of your chest is pounding away at you. makes you question you heart following even more but the reality is that - that is what makes us who we as individuals are. i am not the best desicion maker when it comes to my personal life, broken hearted again today but... because i follow my heart i know i can love. having the ability to love yourself and another human being is the most beautiful gift one can have... painfully yours, me!

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