Whether You Are Too Logical or Too Emotional, the Solution Is the Same

The basic idea: In a perfect world, highly pragmatic and data-driven people would be more in touch with their emotions and feelings, while highly emotional and heart-centered individuals would have an effective strategy to get stuff done.

For some years now, I've been both thinking about and meditating on a cycle that we could all move through to produce a healthier and more sustainable way of life. Today, I'm sharing its current form:

A bit more background: The fundamental idea here is that we should all move through a cycle between being logical (i.e. thinking) and being fully open (i.e. feeling).

At the right end is where you are focused on thinking. This is where you get stuff done: build a house, drive to work, cook dinner. It's where you narrow all the possibilities you could do into one specific thing that you actually do.

If you are in "thinking" mode and you want to move towards the other end of the spectrum, the first thing you do is to pause your work/actions. "It's time to shift gears," you might think.

Next, you begin planning. How could you best shift towards a more open state of mind and body? You might make arrangements for a weekend away, or search for a meditation class.

Eventually, your planning results in a state that can be elusive: to be still enough to know things you're not sure how you know (most people call this intuition). It's this stillness that creates space for you to feel instead of think; it also leads most of us to recognize how connected we are to everyone and everything else.

In the far left "feeling" end of this cycle, your presence is centered in your heart, rather than your head. You are patient and present. Time isn't a factor. You welcome new emotions, insights and possibilities. You may be in a flow state. You might feel like a kid again.

Let's now consider the path from feeling to thinking...

If you are focused on feeling and choose to move towards a thinking state, then your emphasis should shift to more of an active creative state. It's time to build, found or make something. You might literally get up from your campsite by the river's side and start to pack up.

In time, you move to the stage that one passes in both directions: planning. But moving in this direction, you are focused on getting specific about the possibilities that exist for you. Maybe you need to change jobs, or to change where you live? Perhaps it's the right time to join forces with others. How can you best create an environment that helps you make such decisions?

You then move to refine your options into one or two extremely specific actions. Even the most creative among us must pass through this stage if they wish to turn ideas into action. A novelist must produce a novel; a painter must paint a painting.

And thus, you arrive at the thinking stage, taking actions in a calculated and focused manner. You are what most people call being productive.

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Most people I know—myself included—lean towards one side or the other, so much so that we seldom if ever dwell on the opposite side. Imagine a logic-driven person who acts in a heartless manner or a compassionate individual who feels so deeply that s/he never seems to get anything meaningful accomplished.

I'd like to suggest that the healthiest path of all is to move all the way through this cycle repeatedly. It's okay to primarily "live" on one side, just as long as you periodically take time to shift to the other end. In doing so, you will become a more complete and fulfilled human being.

Bruce Kasanoff is a social media ghostwriter for entrepreneurs. He lives on the side of a mountain in Utah.