What to do?

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Decisions, Decisions.”

I’d have to say my decision-making process a bit of both. Instinct backed by enough research for me to feel comfortable in going with my gut. Generally making important decisions based on instinct alone has worked out, but on the rare occasion it hasn’t, the resulting consequences made me regret not researching that particular decision before taking action. One instance of this was back in my teens. In most cases, the teenaged mind is confusing at best and a harrowing maelstrom of conflicting emotions, shoddy reasoning and nonexistent logic.

Picture this: an angry, depressed teen girl walks into a gym, sleep deprived and stuck in a continuous loop of traumatic flashbacks. She’s intent on forgetting the memories that plague her nightly and thinks exercise will wear her out to the point where the monsters in the closet vanish for a few hours. There’s just one problem. In her rush to escape, the girl exercises for hours, paying no mind to the blaring klaxons going off within her body. The end result? Serious injury and as a result of that, a deep seated fear of fitness activities of any kind. That in turn, caused me to spiral even deeper into disordered behavior patterns. It took me years to get over the fear born on that day. While I still base a great number of decisions on instinct it’s the memory of that event that’s caused me to temper present and future decisions with a healthy pinch of reason and a generous sprinkle of logic.

How have you handled the result of a decision made purely on logic or instinct alone?