Sunday, August 5, 2007

How do we decide? (Sunday Scribblings)


Foto by: Thomas Hawk
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/500005223/



There is something about decision making that seems to burn a fuse in my head, it only happens when I stop to think about it, as if thinking while acting were to be an impossible task because of the amount of information overloading my brain. (Have you ever tried talking to two people at the same time? It’s the same kind of feeling.) Given some attempts, I tried to figure out how my decisions came to be. I was trying to become aware of the exact moment in which my brain fired the impulse that made me realize that I wanted this and not that. Picking a movie to watch, choosing which color socks to wear, or the songs in my play list, or the desk I wanted to sit on in class… the list just goes on. Doing this meant turning off the internal auto-pilot button so I could try to figure out what it was that triggered a particular decision. It soon came to mind that this was no easy task, and many times I would just let it go out of exhaustion. Somehow it came to me that my decisions were being conditioned by a certain momentum and taking place prior to my conscious conclusions. Anyhow, it wasn’t very effective for me. If it’s difficult to make up your mind, imagine making up your mind and thinking about how you do it at the same time… Sometimes the auto-pilot button is required for the sake of efficiency!


Prompted by this week's Sunday Scribblings = "Decision."

5 comments:

Yoga Gal said...

So many of us go on auto mode.

Clare said...

Hi Gilson I can totally relate to the auto-pilotness (I think I just made up a new word) of decision making. I like how you observed your mind and how/when you make decisions -- and I agree that it's not easy to know how this happens -- it seems to have a life of its own, and humans are much more complex and multi-faceted than we fully grasp. It's all fascinating, though!
:)

Gilson said...

Hi yoga gal! I think so too, for better or for worse.

Hi Clare! I've learned to fall in love with our complexities, and to think that no matter how far I go, it will only be a part a greater whole. Thanks for stopping by!

Crafty Green Poet said...

It certainly is difficult to stand back and look at the decision making process.

Gilson said...

Hi crafty green poet! It’s true. I think it’s a task of a lifetime to get to know ourselves, but a task worth doing.

Hi Jennifer! Thanks for stopping by! We are beautiful machines on the inside aren’t we? And the complexities make it all the better.