Saturday, October 07, 2006

logic = health and happiness.

the more critical and logical we become in our thinking, the more we can effectively assess situations that are critical to our survival and become healthier, wealthier and wiser.
money, health and wisdom are the three pillars of our existance. we benifit monitarily and healthwise if we can increase our wisdom.
most don`t have a guru in our pants pocket so we have to get out there and graze our knees a few times running across the playground before we adjust our approach.
making decisions and taking responsibility for them are the hallmarks of effective people. people who run companies, governments and organisations are generally effective at assessing situations and formulating a response and having the confidence to then take action.
in hindsight it was clear what the logical thing to do was. the trick is to do it while the play clock is running.

how is this accomplished?

by learning to think critically and logically.

that is; to not rely on assumptions or pre-supposition.

challenge your beliefs.

know the difference between a belief and a fact. especially the one`s you hold dear.

hard to do sometimes........but your health, wealth and happiness depend on it.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

And at the same time, neither the world's problems nor your own can be solved with intellectualism and logic alone.

Dr.Alistair said...

no, but the mundane yet limiting problems that set boundaries for so many people can be dealt with objectively through reason.

i did a casual social experiment with two friends. we went into three different supermarkets in the city where we live. we picked peak shopping times and all used shopping carts.
there are supermarkets in town called pricechopper which appeal to those on a tight budget. there are the regular consumer markets and then there are the higher-end places where you have better selection etc.

we went to one of each. we found consistantly, in the price chopper, that we encountered more agressive behaviour, inability to be polite with the carts, less eye contact, unfriendly staff and......you had to pay per plastic bag at the checkout.

at the other two the price was higher on some things, but the stock items we usually consume like cereal, milk, etc. were the same, but the selection, decor, service and general atmosphere was far nicer and nobody was hitting you with the carts or staring you down as you passed them in the aisle.

one can conclude a lot from this kind of casual test. we did this simply because we were interested in the price difference between locations, but we found the real difference being in the attitudes of the people more than the potential for savings.

my personal knowledge of social systems is that the more rational and logical a group of people are, the happier they tend to be. happier people solve problems more effectively. they are likely to earn better also.

this experiement tends to show this.

Anonymous said...

When you have a minute, check out A Whole New Mind. I've spent most of my educational and professional efforts at building the skills of the left brain. I was a dogged proponent analysis, logic, intellectualism until this book came along and I realized that it's literally half the story.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and on your price shopping experiment... people that are struggling (or obsessed with the idea) to save every penny tend to be quite bitter. A Whole Foods on the other hand, where people are paying a substantial premium draws people from the opposite end of the spectrum.

The Economist published an article a few years back showing relative happiness across the globe. Happiness was correlated to income to a point just above meeting one's basic needs. Afterwhich, other factors took the lead.

Mom was right, money alone doesn't buy happiness but you need enough to meet your basic needs.

Dr.Alistair said...

rand, your comments are bang on. attitude is the key. once the food, fuel and shelter issues are dealt with then money is immaterial. the hoarding of money for money`s sake is delusional.
regarding left brain logic, to make it the sole mechanism by which you run your life is a sure recipe for failure. many of my clients are left brain types, managers and dept. heads and corporate types and professors who have just reached the end of thier left-brained tether and are starting to come apart.
my job is to expose them to the right brain strategies to get them integrated.
my discussion regarding logic is more for the person who is struggling with neurosis and needs a platform to take the next step.

Vincent said...

"money, health and wisdom are the three pillars of our existence." Once again, Alistair, you've provided me with inspiration. I disagree so profoundly that I'll have to find out why!

Dr.Alistair said...

excellent! it is the very essence of our presencee here to function in this way..........happy hunting.

Vincent said...

Furthermore, you have provided me with my blog-post of today. Thanks again, Yves