It is without question that a majority of the human experience is a game of making choices.
Every single day from the time we wake up in the morning, until the time our head hits the pillow at night, our days are full of having to make choices.
We choose whether or not we wake up to an alarm everyday.
We choose what we are going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
We choose whether or not we go into work.
These things seem mindless and are often not things we think about as they just become a part of our daily routine, but they are still choices nonetheless.
We know that if we chose not to go into work then we risk getting fired, so in our minds we check it off as something that seems like we don't have a choice because of the consequences, however, we still choose to go because we are aware of the consequences if we chose not to.
This is the art of making sound choices - understanding the consequences behind our actions.
If we are aware of the consequences for something like not choosing to go to work, then why aren't we aware of the consequences of every other choice that we make?
This is arguably how a majority of people today, at least in Western culture, operate in their day-to-day.
People today make a majority of their choices without ever thinking about the consequences of their actions.
People today make choices based off of how they feel in the moment about something.
In his book, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Kahneman outlines the two different forms of thinking that we have as humans: reactive thinking, and logical thinking.
Reactive thinking is is a matter of making choices based off of our feelings and the information we have at our disposal in the moment.
Reactive thinking is fast and is partially how we have been able to survive for millions of years.
Think about it - in more primitive times, it was our reactive brains that helped keep us alive because it was our reactive brains that either chose to fight or flight in the face of danger.
However, while our reactive brains are instinctual and have allowed us to survive, it is our logical brains that have allowed us to thrive in all different environments.
It is our logical brains that allowed us to develop tools to hunt with, how to trap our prey, and how to build shelter in harsh environments.
Logical thinking is a much slower form of thinking because it requires a deeper level of understanding on what is going on around us in the moment.
Logical thinking is methodical and requires one to think about many different factors all at one time to come to one conclusion.
In other words, it is our logical brains that allow us to briefly see into the future and make sound decisions given the information we have at our disposal.
Logical thinking requires one to think about the consequences of certain actions and how they will effect our futures.
Logical thinking requires a deeper level of critical thinking skills and ability to fully process information, than just reacting to something that is in our face at the moment.
In Kahneman's book, he discusses the fact that a majority of people today make choices using the reactive mode of their brains.
Without ever stopping to think about if something makes actual sense or if it will make sense in the future, people are in a constant reactive state.
One thing that I can tell you working as a horse trainer is that horses work the exact same way.
Horses are the most reactive animals on the food chain.
Mother nature programmed them to run from danger because that is how they stay alive.
However, when it comes to training horses and gaining a horses trust and respect, it is a matter of teaching the horse how to think.
Thinking does not come natural to horses, but because we have the ability to make conscious decisions of our own, we can instill those qualities into a horse when training.
This is how horses learn to partner up with humans because we take what mother nature programmed in them naturally and use it to their own benefit by teaching them how to think and not be reactive.
This is also why men and women compliment one another because it is women that naturally live in a more reactive state, while men are the logical voices of reason.
A man's ability to be logical, think critically, be resourceful, and make sound decisions is the role of the protector/provider.
A woman's ability to be in touch with her emotions gives her the the ultimate superpower of being intuitive.
We touched on this point briefly in our last blog post, All Women Lie.
We can see the benefits of a man who is logical and a woman who is intuitive teaming up to create something that is meant to last.
A man who is logical is naturally going to make the best decision he sees fit because he is thinking into the future and the well-being for those he is responsible for.
A man who is logical is taking the consequences of his actions and the actions of those around him into account.
A man who is logical is capable of making good choices.
Not every choice he makes is going to be great, but the logical man is willing to learn from his mistakes as that is all a part of the critical thinking process.
Now let's talk about the pitfalls of making choices from a reactive state of mind.
We have said it before many times in previous blogs and the same still holds true - emotions and feelings cloud judgement and reason.
When we become attached to something emotionally, it doesn't matter what logic or perspective someone else presents us with, we fail to see past whatever it is we are emotionally attached to.
We see this all the time in many modern controversial subjects such as politics.
When we are emotionally attached to something or we react on something in the moment because we failed to process all of the information accordingly, we tend to make poor choices.
We see this all the time with those who chase pleasure.
When someone is solely searching for some form of short term gratification, it is obvious they are not thinking about the consequences of their actions in that moment or how what they're doing right now is going to effect them down the road.
In other words, chasing pleasure leads to making poor choices.
One thing that has become evident about the world today is that we live in a pleasure-ridden society.
People are only searching for things that can bring them immediate gratification, instead of focusing on building something to last long term.
We see it everyday with men distracted online, masturbating, consuming porn, taking poor care of themselves, and making themselves more useless by the day.
Men have no drive and no purpose to go out and be useful because the decisions they are making are only satisfying their short term wants and desires.
We also see the exact same thing with women.
Women are constantly living in a feelings-based reality, so naturally most women aren't thinking about the consequences of anything.
What makes sense to them right here right now based off of how they feel becomes their reality.
As a result of this, women in the West are also more distracted than ever and by extension, make poor choices that will effect them in the long term unbeknownst to them in that moment.
A woman's mind is extremely fragile because of this - they will always chase the dangling carrot if the carrot is juicy enough.
If a woman chooses to be promiscuous, she is not thinking about the long term consequences of her actions, she is looking to satisfy her short term desires right here right now.
Maybe it's money, maybe it's the attention, or maybe it is how she justifies having a "good time", regardless of however she chooses to justify her behavior, it is obvious she is not thinking about the long term consequences of her choices.
The long term consequences being a severe addiction to seeking male attention, not being satisfied by one man, and a lack of fulfillment in her personal relationships.
At the same time, you also need to try and understand why this is.
At the end of the day, there is nothing but short term upside for a woman to be promiscuous in today's day-in-age because men reward this kind of behavior in women - women receive all the attention, they make the fast easy money, and they have access to whatever they want right here right now all because men buy into it.
We can begin to see how making poor choices as men and women can cause a lot of disturbance and friction in peoples personal lives.
The point that I am trying to make in today's post is that choices are everything, and our life every single day is full of making choices.
Men need to make good choices to build themselves into competent and useful men, the same way that women need to learn how to make good choices to make themselves useful as women.
If I want to have a strong mind and strong body, then I must do something everyday to build a strong mind and strong body for my own long term well-being.
However, if I sit at home and eat shitty food and watch porn all day, then I completely rid myself of the ability to have a strong mind or a strong body long term because I am solely focused on how I feel right now and what is in front of me.
Cheesecake and junk food is always going to taste better than ground beef, but I know there is only one choice that will provide me with more benefit in the long term.
I know that alcohol is bad for my body and my mind, so why would I consume it?
I know that having meaningless sex with a bunch of random people is just going to give sex with one person little-to-no meaning, so why partake in it?
I know fast and easy money isn't going to feel as good as money you have worked hard to make, so why chase it?
It is easier to sit at home and jerk off to porn to have your "sexual desires" met than having to go out and pursue women, but only one choice is going to provide you with long term fulfillment, and that is finding a woman that respects you to her core.
Our life is full of choices and the more we can armor ourselves with useful skills and knowledge, the more we can better prepare ourselves to make better choices for not only ourselves, but for everyone around us.