Think humans are rational? Ask about gym parking

I always like people who think humans are rational – that we make decisions based on logic and reason. Sure, they say, emotions come into things, but they don’t influence your choices.

This is despite the work of folk like Kahneman, who shows humans flirt with logic but we don’t take it home at night. We walk along the shores of rationality, occasionally dipping our toes into the water.

It’s especially hard to be logical in the moment. We tend to do what our instincts say, then reflect on it later.

And if you want proof, you can read myriad studies showing this. It doesn’t matter how educated or street smart you are, whether you’re in a lab or in an office, logic is not the dominant voice.

But if you want an easier proof, ask a gym enthusiast about the parking there.

I’ve heard people – in person and on social media – complain about the lack of parking at their gym. They have to park a few blocks away, they say, and walk to the gym.

Can you imagine the indignity of walking to a place of exercise?

Now, to be fair, a lot of these people catch themselves doing this. They realise how it’s a strange thing to complain about. Really, a good walk is a great warm up and cool down – shouldn’t they want to park 15 minutes away?

Even if they notice themselves being, shall we say silly, it doesn’t change the frustration. Knowing it doesn’t make sense doesn’t dull it one bit.

Oh well.

In a way, this is great news. Since we don’t make our decisions on a rational, conscious level, that narrows down our real thinking to the unconscious.

And your unconscious might seem like it’s out of reach, but it’s not. You can enhance your instincts and emotions on the layer of your mind where they come from.

You can train them where they live.

All you need is the right tool. Or, even better, a whole suite of them.

The best part is you can begin with no cost to you, right now:

https://guided-thought.com/awakened-thought/