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The Reason for Reason

Posted By: Randy GageDecember 31, 2008

In the last post we talked about the importance of having a purpose, and I said I think that this needs to be centered around your own happiness.

The next important fundamental value is running your life by reason.  Which means that you analyze things with the criteria of whether it serves your highest moral purpose - which would be the perpetuation of your happiness.

The question people ask me the most is, ‘How do I know whether a belief I have is lack or prosperity oriented?’  This is actually quite easy. The question to ask is simply: “Does this belief serve me?”

And the way to discern that is with your rational mind.  Emotions are good.  They are a vital part of living a full and rich life.  But the truly sane and emotionally balanced person will know – or will make it a point to discover – what is causing those emotions.  Here’s the thing that most people don’t realize, however:

There does not have to be a clash between your emotions and reason.

Yes, you should allow yourself to experience emotions.  But don’t make life-altering decisions based solely upon them.  Feel your emotions, then learn what causes them.  “Luke, use the Force.”  But also involve your rational mind to decide what is in your highest good.

That means extend the situation to its logical conclusion, and see if the logic holds up.  This is what Bob Burg meant in an earlier post when he said, “check your premises.”

Meaning, checking to ensure that if you pursue a particular course of action to its completion, if it will make you happy.  If not, it is counterproductive to your existence.

This of course leads us to the third fundamental value:  Self-Esteem.  That’s where we’ll pick up next time.  In the meantime, please check in with your thoughts on reason.

-RG

6 comments on “The Reason for Reason”

  1. Hey Randy,
    These have been great posts, on some of my favorite subjects. So, here are few questions to think about and some thoughts of my own….

    If someone’s highest moral purpose is their happiness, how do they ultimately know which path will get them there? Many times people think something will make them happy to find out they have been going after the wrong path or the right path for the wrong reasons. And what happens on days when they are not happy?

    For me, I would actually shift your statement a bit to …
    ”Your Happiness comes from knowing your Highest Moral Purpose and acting on it”. I do think happiness is the ultimate and critical outcome, but the path to happiness is very different for everyone. (for some it may actually be “to serve God” …that’s not mine, but I am sure there are a few people in the world that are VERY happy with that purpose)

    The critical thinking comes in when searching for what your individual purpose is. The emotions are the barometer to help measure if you are on the mark or not.

    Here is an example of my meaning….
    Many years ago I discovered that one of my deeper purposes is “to create beauty around me”.

    Now that can sound simple, pithy or silly to read, but I can gauge if I am on the mark with everything I do and see if it lines up with that one purpose.

    It is why I choose the colors I do for my home, the way I choose to dress when I leave my house, why I make my bed everyday, keep fresh flowers and candles in my home, do my best to eat healthy, love to cook for friends, am thoughful about how I interact with my family, and choose who I spend my time with. It’s why I love shoes, beautiful cars and traveling.

    (maybe this is even why I am married to the one poetry contestant cute enough to qualify for prize C)

    When I am on track, with that one purpose, I never have to justify my choices or feel guilty for what I want. If I can answer the question, ”is it beautiful to me?” or, “did I add more beauty to my world?”, with a YES…, then I feel calm, deeply satisfied, joyful, loving or fulfilled. Ultimately… happy.

    If the answer is a No, then I have a gauge to see where I missed my mark or got lazy. If I am feeling some emotion other then joy or happiness….bored, lonely, unsettled etc. then the critical thinking helps me see what other motivation was going on. (This is where the next subject of self esteem fits beautifull)

    So, in my opinion, there is definitely not a clash between emotions and critical thinking. The emotions help you know if you are on the right track or not. They are also a great reward for being on track. You get to feel happy, loving, generous, calm, excited, passionate, fulfilled, hopeful….etc etc.

    This is why (as Bob was clarifying) being “selfish” is so important.

    When you are making choices from your personal purpose guidance system, rather then "moral obligation", you will naturally always include serving yourself, others and the greater good. As long as the choices are not made from guilt, but from purpose, connection and self love, they always come back to what brings you happiness.

    Happy New Year my friends. I am very excited about 2009!!!!
    Peace,
    Jeanne

  2. What I'm wondering...

    1. What about when we have competing commitments/beliefs that limit our ability to take action due to them countering each other out... ?

    2. Who, or what controls your rational mind? Are we not also being "had" by our mind - even in checking the premises... who's doing the checking? And what controls that?

  3. I am a little bit like Jeanne. What I feel and what I think is very different. I might think that it is a beautiful day, but if I feel it, now I know that it is a beautiful day.
    Some people might say that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity but I find that you can do that without speaking aloud and reason yourself to a solution.
    As I said in a previous post, the true purpose in life is to be happy. If you are not happy in what you are doing, change. Some people might say that they can't change now because they can't leave a good paying job. The move doesn't have to be that drastic. You can learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want. (special quote from Jim Rohn that helped me go through a bad time in my life). Now that I see all that I want more clearly, I am happy, getting happier.
    If you can't reason by yourself, find a true friend that can help you in this situation. A good listening person, and sometime they don't even have to say anything that your solution will come to you.
    I see a very special year starting. A year of revelation and revolution. Talking about the Randy's manifesto, that is great help for all of us.
    Randy, can I translate your manifesto in French?
    Please let me know.
    Carole

  4. "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
    Oscar Wilde

    Everyone is the most fascinating person they should know!

    I recommend reading Decoding your life by Janet Swerdlow.

  5. Dear Dr.Gage
    Today my question was around which purposes i should choose during my way to my Conclusion target?
    during last 2 or 3 mounths, i choosed some targets but unfortunately i didn't get them...
    so now, when i want to choose the next for this mounth,then i confused that what should i do?
    i should select a number logically or the number which really make me happy, from my emotion?
    i'm really waiting for your response

Leave a Reply to Nastaran Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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  • 6 comments on “The Reason for Reason”

    1. Hey Randy,
      These have been great posts, on some of my favorite subjects. So, here are few questions to think about and some thoughts of my own….

      If someone’s highest moral purpose is their happiness, how do they ultimately know which path will get them there? Many times people think something will make them happy to find out they have been going after the wrong path or the right path for the wrong reasons. And what happens on days when they are not happy?

      For me, I would actually shift your statement a bit to …
      ”Your Happiness comes from knowing your Highest Moral Purpose and acting on it”. I do think happiness is the ultimate and critical outcome, but the path to happiness is very different for everyone. (for some it may actually be “to serve God” …that’s not mine, but I am sure there are a few people in the world that are VERY happy with that purpose)

      The critical thinking comes in when searching for what your individual purpose is. The emotions are the barometer to help measure if you are on the mark or not.

      Here is an example of my meaning….
      Many years ago I discovered that one of my deeper purposes is “to create beauty around me”.

      Now that can sound simple, pithy or silly to read, but I can gauge if I am on the mark with everything I do and see if it lines up with that one purpose.

      It is why I choose the colors I do for my home, the way I choose to dress when I leave my house, why I make my bed everyday, keep fresh flowers and candles in my home, do my best to eat healthy, love to cook for friends, am thoughful about how I interact with my family, and choose who I spend my time with. It’s why I love shoes, beautiful cars and traveling.

      (maybe this is even why I am married to the one poetry contestant cute enough to qualify for prize C)

      When I am on track, with that one purpose, I never have to justify my choices or feel guilty for what I want. If I can answer the question, ”is it beautiful to me?” or, “did I add more beauty to my world?”, with a YES…, then I feel calm, deeply satisfied, joyful, loving or fulfilled. Ultimately… happy.

      If the answer is a No, then I have a gauge to see where I missed my mark or got lazy. If I am feeling some emotion other then joy or happiness….bored, lonely, unsettled etc. then the critical thinking helps me see what other motivation was going on. (This is where the next subject of self esteem fits beautifull)

      So, in my opinion, there is definitely not a clash between emotions and critical thinking. The emotions help you know if you are on the right track or not. They are also a great reward for being on track. You get to feel happy, loving, generous, calm, excited, passionate, fulfilled, hopeful….etc etc.

      This is why (as Bob was clarifying) being “selfish” is so important.

      When you are making choices from your personal purpose guidance system, rather then "moral obligation", you will naturally always include serving yourself, others and the greater good. As long as the choices are not made from guilt, but from purpose, connection and self love, they always come back to what brings you happiness.

      Happy New Year my friends. I am very excited about 2009!!!!
      Peace,
      Jeanne

    2. What I'm wondering...

      1. What about when we have competing commitments/beliefs that limit our ability to take action due to them countering each other out... ?

      2. Who, or what controls your rational mind? Are we not also being "had" by our mind - even in checking the premises... who's doing the checking? And what controls that?

    3. I am a little bit like Jeanne. What I feel and what I think is very different. I might think that it is a beautiful day, but if I feel it, now I know that it is a beautiful day.
      Some people might say that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity but I find that you can do that without speaking aloud and reason yourself to a solution.
      As I said in a previous post, the true purpose in life is to be happy. If you are not happy in what you are doing, change. Some people might say that they can't change now because they can't leave a good paying job. The move doesn't have to be that drastic. You can learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want. (special quote from Jim Rohn that helped me go through a bad time in my life). Now that I see all that I want more clearly, I am happy, getting happier.
      If you can't reason by yourself, find a true friend that can help you in this situation. A good listening person, and sometime they don't even have to say anything that your solution will come to you.
      I see a very special year starting. A year of revelation and revolution. Talking about the Randy's manifesto, that is great help for all of us.
      Randy, can I translate your manifesto in French?
      Please let me know.
      Carole

    4. "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
      Oscar Wilde

      Everyone is the most fascinating person they should know!

      I recommend reading Decoding your life by Janet Swerdlow.

    5. Dear Dr.Gage
      Today my question was around which purposes i should choose during my way to my Conclusion target?
      during last 2 or 3 mounths, i choosed some targets but unfortunately i didn't get them...
      so now, when i want to choose the next for this mounth,then i confused that what should i do?
      i should select a number logically or the number which really make me happy, from my emotion?
      i'm really waiting for your response

    Leave a Reply to Nastaran Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


    Warning: Undefined variable $key in /nas/content/live/randygagedev/wp-content/plugins/honeypot-comments/honeypot-comments.php on line 63

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