"When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion." That's a quote by Dale Carnegie. Best known for his book "How To Win Friends & Influence People" Carnegie was an expert at... well making friends and influencing people!
I think this quote is spot on. In fact, I see it in action nearly every day as I watch my family's daily interactions. When the bickering and nattering start, I notice that throwing a little logic into the mix usually ends in one of two results. One the person that is being forced to see the logic in an argument is usually stumped. Once the logic in a course of action is shown, there usually isn't a way to win the argument so it just stops. The second way I have seen things go is when the one piece of logic is refuted by another bit of logic. These are usually the fun ones to watch since both arguments are logical. There was an old saying that all roads lead to Rome. Well, in some cases, there are more than one logical way to reach a conclusion! Regardless of what people say, we all react emotionally at one point or another. The trick is to recognize when a decision you are making is driven by emotion and to then try to find the logical way to justify your decision. I find that if you can't logically justify your position, then you are likely better off making a different decision. I try to teach my daughters to think logically. Maddie, unfortunately, uses logic as a weapon to win arguments. This is okay, as far as it goes, but I think she also needs to use logic in areas of her life where her emotions are ruling the roost. All decisions are better when they can lead to a logical conclusion. Now, I am not just pointing fingers at Maddie here. I too, have made some bad decisions when I relied too heavily on my emotions. In fact, looking back at my life, I would say that a large percentage of time where I got into some trouble, it was either when I let my emotions guide my actions, or when I just didn't think my actions out to the most logical conclusion. All said, the point of this post is that if you want to make better day-to-day decisions in your life, then you need to start to think logically... even when your emotions are telling you otherwise. Think through your actions people. I believe strongly that your life will be better because of it. Do all things end with their logical conclusions? No. Many times you will find that they don't. Even so, if you act logically, you will have a better chance of seeing a positive outcome. Not everyone will be thinking logically, though, and unfortunately, that is where some of your problems will lie. If you can judge who is acting from emotions only and not bringing things to their logical conclusion, you can sometimes still find a way to avoid a disaster by seeking ways to counter the illogical action. Life is a lot of times like a game of chess. Keep an eye on the key pieces and make your moves logically!
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