Filed under: Life 101
Some things in life you absolutely cannot avoid. There’s an old saying that states death and taxes are the two things one cannot avoid and there are many humorous variations on that theme. I am still alive and kicking, and I know there are ways to not pay taxes (not having a paycheck to start with is one way, living in Belize is another). However, all humor aside (warning: not a funny post), I have yet to find my life decision free. Decisions must be made. To hit snooze or get out of bed? Omelet or cereal (or cookies)? To run or not to run? (See cookies…) To guilt self into running anyway? Skirt or pants (skirt usually wins here)? Heels or wedges? Scarf or jacket? Dolce & Gabanna or Armani? (It should be noted: perfume is the only area of my wardrobe/life where I regularly wear a designer label.) Make lunch or eat out? I haven’t even left the house yet and already I’m on decision overload! Admittedly, most of these decisions are completely inconsequential, even soporific.
What about the Big Decisions? Not necessarily the “where shall I go to school/what major should I declare” or “should we break up/should we get married” kind of Big Decisions, but the ones that will have a significant impact on you or on someone else.
(I feel like I’m talking in riddles…let me be more specific.)
I have the opportunity to weigh in on a decision making “panel” of sorts, and our decisions will make a huge impact on a select group of individuals. The kind of impact that they will be talking about for years to come and reliving as one of their best experiences from this time in their respective lives. It’s kind of a big deal.
In this case, each individual presented themselves and their work to our panel and now we are narrowing down our selections. In this case, would you go with statistics and presented “evidence” and rubrics and tick marks, or would you go with your gut?
(…this probably isn’t much more specific, but it’s about as detailed as I can be on the subject.)
At any rate–the real question is do you go with your gut? Or with documented and statistical evidence? What if you know that the board, yourself included, is very prone to skewing those statistics and that evidence? Do you still use it?
(I feel like I should clearly state that I am not talking about a criminal trial where I am serving on the jury or anything like that, this is much less scientific and is about an experience, not a justification. I think murderers, rapists, drunk drivers, child molesters and shoe thieves should be sent directly to jail. Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 Dollars. This situation is nothing like that.)
Which brings me back to the Golden Question: Do you go with your gut, or do you stick with facts?
For the record: I’m a “go with my gut” kind of girl…which is why I routinely end up having cookies for breakfast, feel guilty and go for a run. Although I hardly think three 11-minute miles will make up for homemade oreo cookies at 7:30 am. And again at 7:50.
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i’m a go with my gut gal too. an overwhelming majority of the times that feeling serves me well. that’s very obvious when i haven’t listen to it properly.
Comment by Pia K 2009 September 22 @ 5:18 amStatistics can be skewed any direction the researcher so desires. So I say, go with your instincts.
Comment by Heather W 2009 September 22 @ 5:53 amNeither. I get confused about which is my gut and which is my head, and end up taking the simplest option, without being sure which way round I’m going.
Despite the smiley face, I mean it. Deciding to do an MA at the start of this year was one of these decisions. My head said, do an MA, but then I started questioning: is that just my gut telling me to do so because I feel safe in a university environment and don’t want to go out into the big bad world? Then I started wondering, is my head telling me to get out, OUT, of uni and do something practical? Or is that my gut? And which one is better to listen to anyway, even if I could identify which is which? argh… A whole lot of hair torn out over that!
Comment by Allie 2009 September 22 @ 7:15 amDepends on if you trust your gut on the given subject!
Comment by grungedandy 2009 September 22 @ 7:23 amIf it’s something I know about always with gut feel better if stats back me up but not essential, if it’s something I have no clue I use the statistics to help me make a balance decision often the gut gets the final decision here as well! So really its both just depends on which order! LoL Hope that helped good luck Seeya Hugya *G*
I go with my gut! And cookies at 7 am sound like best idea ever
Comment by Margarita 2009 September 22 @ 7:34 amI always give the “numbers” a cusory glance, but have learned from much experience that when I go against my gut, I regret it.
Comment by Dawn 2009 September 22 @ 8:39 amyou know me, i’m a number cruncher through and through…on paper. i analyze all the stats, i realize the pros and cons…and in the end i toss the facts aside and go with my what my instincts tell me…i like to think of it as following my heart with some intelligence!
Comment by Janers 2009 September 22 @ 9:03 amI’d go with the facts and statistics unless I KNEW they were skewed beyond usability. I would maybe temper it a little bit with gut feelings, but wouldn’t rely exclusively on that. When you’re making a decision that impacts other people, you have to be able to explain it to the ones who lost out. If someone asks you why you decided against them you want to be able to say something more than, “Well, I just had a feeling that there were better candidates.” You know?
Comment by Jess 2009 September 22 @ 9:09 amI am definitely a brain-guided decision-maker because then I have more chance of tracing my decision back to something. My gut is so unreliable! One second, it wants string cheese, and the next, it’s angry at the local news. So, I don’t usually go with my gut.
Comment by RA 2009 September 22 @ 9:11 amTough decision. I think intuition is surprisingly more reliable than facts. I would try to twist the facts toward the non-obvious conclusion. If you find it’s easily twisted, go with your first instinct.
Comment by bo 2009 September 22 @ 9:28 amAhhh, what a great philosophical question you raise. I think I do a combination of data + gut. Because, I need information in order for my gut to tell me what’s right or wrong. My gut helps me sort through the information and helps me determine whether I should heavily consider it in my final decision (or not). But, without that data, my gut has nothing to go on. In the same breath, I couldn’t rely solely on data … as I feel I’m a smart person who has accumulated enough experiences to trust what my body tells me.
Comment by SoMi's Nilsa 2009 September 22 @ 10:05 amI always go with my gut (after much waffling, but still). If things were supposed to be decided by test score and statistics, there would be no need for human judges.
Comment by Operation Pink Herring 2009 September 22 @ 11:17 amI’d say go with the gut. I think the head will warn you enough if you are not making the best decision. I think You will have a good way of gaging what is right! good luck!
Comment by Jessica 2009 September 22 @ 12:59 pmHmm, interesting. I would be interested in knowing what prompted this post. I think in life it is best to seek the middle path, not to get all buddhist on you or anything, but mixing reason and instinct is valuable. You should use all the resources available to you. In studying law, it has become clear to me already that, as much as law tries to impose concrete rules of conduct, etc, there are always situations that test the edges of those rules, and law is not a science, as much as reason is involved in it, it is very much an art in many ways. But since we can’t exactly remove ourselves from our humanity, I think it is important to recognize our gut instincts and give them the attention due to them.
Comment by Sra 2009 September 22 @ 2:34 pmGood luck.
I am a mixed response. If it is a major decision likely to affect myself and others, I am a fact person. But if it is a major decision that I know in my heart is the right thing to do, I go with the heart.
But I suppose neither use my gut, huh.
Comment by Stephanie 2009 September 22 @ 3:12 pmi think my gut usually wins that battle. oy. haha.
Comment by katelin 2009 September 22 @ 4:50 pmI just depends on the circumstance. I know that’s not a real answer, but it’s the best I can do. I’m so over-analytical that it’s hard for me to make any decision based purely on a gut instinct, but there are times where that seems like the best action. That’s sort of contradictory, isn’t it?
Comment by Sov 2009 September 22 @ 9:05 pmWhy, hello there!!! I’m baaa-ack!
Just popping by to say hello (so yes, you can expect multiple comments from me in under 5 minutes)
As for decisions – gut. Always. I mean, head for the beginning stages (If there are 5 choices and 2 are clearly wrong, out they go!) but then – gut. No *clear* reasoning behind the choice, just the one I happen to like the best, for whatever reason… And thus far, that’s worked well for me!
Comment by Z 2009 September 28 @ 6:50 am