The Course Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 In this day and age, we would refer to the heart as the emotional side of man. When someone says “Follow your heart”, it meant that you should follow your emotions. But wise decision makers will tell you that the heart is an unreliable source of wisdom. It can’t be trusted, therefore, we need the mind to take charge of our lives. But if Solomon were alive today, he would disagree with both assumptions—we need the heart and the mind if we want to live good, quality lives. In the original Hebrew meaning, the heart wasn’t the seat of the emotions only, it was also the seat of the will and the intellect. The heart contained a man’s hopes, dreams, feelings, understanding, decision-making, and everything else that would constitute the totality of who you truly are. In Solomon’s time, the heart represented both the heart and the mind; there was no separating the two even when making decisions that shape the course of your life. Antonio Damasio, one of the world’s top neuroscientists, explains the importance of the emotions in decision making. In his book, Descartes Error, Damasio mentioned that he had a successful businessman as a patient whom he called “Elliot.” He had a small brain lesion which affected his ability to feel emotion. Despite the fact that it didn’t affect his intelligence, he was no longer able to make decisions. According to his somatic marker hypothesis, our bodies stockpile information of our past experiences which helps us make decisions. Going with our gut, apparently, isn’t just about going with our emotions. It’s about drawing upon a body of knowledge or information related to experiences of a comparable nature. Joseph Ledoux, also discovered that during emotional moments, chemicals are discharged from the body which help promote memory and learning. The rational mind, it seems, isn’t the only basis for coming up with the best decisions. It takes a combination of our emotions and our minds to do the wise thing. No wonder Solomon warned us to guard our heart! It’s that important because it will move us in the direction that it believes is the best one. The quality of our decisions is dependent on the quality of the contents of our mind and the experiences which we allow our emotions to go through. Therefore, we need to filter everything that goes in our heart because it will definitely determine the course of our lives. What are you feeding your mind? You have to be decisive with what you read, what you watch, and what you look at. These things will determine the content of your mind which will then inform your decisions. Navigate your mind toward those that will help you grow, personally, professionally, relationally, and spiritually. What are you feeding your emotions? Look at your schedule and see where you are spending most of your time. You need to consciously decide which experiences would be beneficial for you and make plans accordingly. Spend time with the most important people in your life, help others who can’t pay you back, do something productive, and choose your music carefully. The Lord wants you to have a good life but you need to guard your heart carefully so that you can make wise decisions.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 14:44:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015