Why “Logical” Decision Making Is Quietly Choosing a Mediocre Life
Living aligned is a big topic and theme in today’s modern spiritual/non-religious popular psychology culture. Buzz kill alert! I think it’s all marketing! I am not into the Law of attraction and manifesting and blah blah blah but LOL. With that said, I’ve learned how to live aligned without abandoning my own belief system, drinking the kool aid and developing a genuine approach to life while gleaning the gold from this spiritual concept. (if you are woo woo, thats ok, you’re very much welcome here still. Please keep reading :) ).
Another way to view living aligned would be to view as living according to your purpose/calling… or a simple way of viewing it could be asking yourself do you live your life and make decisions in a way that “spark joy” (thank you Marie Kondo) while respecting your natural ebb and flow of input and output.
I've always struggled with decision making as an overthinker, overfeeler, and overly insecure person growing up. (Do you like my alliteration of ‘over’ in the previous sentence? I did! Ok ok back to it…). I really have been working hard to change the stress around my decisions because well I don’t want to feel stress… duh?
I see how my decision making is often 100% logical or 100% emotional or just plain mediocre, which has led to some very dramatic decisions (i.e. quitting gov’t job more than once to pursue entrepreneurship or study abroad among other dramatic decisions like cutting off contact with family for 6 months). If i’m not pendulum swinging between these two extremes I will find myself settling or engaging/buying things that usually only bring me temporary joy to help me escape the fact that I've made some mediocre decisions and not living *aligned* (oooo aaaaahhh buzz word).
The problem with being overly logical in your decision making:
Logic is not fact and can be twisted to support any argument. This is why overthinking can happen because we can argue both sides and both sides are valid. We ping pong back and forth and watch the words fly like watching the tennis ball at a match at Wimbledon (omg how cute is Alcaraz??? IYKYK… ok ok back to it). Back and forth our mind goes and we get stuck because we’re looking for the “right answer”. The “right answer” is often a fear driven approach as it's looking for the path that will cause the least pain or avoid problems according to our anxious crystal ball. It's not optimistic and keeps us frozen in fear and not moving forward. If we lean towards logical decision making we’ll find ourselves making the decisions we think we “should” make. The ones that make sense and are emotionally disconnected and frankly dull. ie I’m going to stay in my gov’t job until I’m done having children so I can get mat leave. Great! If you like that job, perfect!! But if you’re just staying there for the sole purpose of mat leave you’re going to give more than you get, dread going into work, and be drained and bored by life because you’re not pursuing what sparks joy (thank you, again, Marie Kondo).
The problem with making overly emotional decisions:
Making decisions based on the feeling we want puts us in a position of always chasing because feelings don’t last. Emotion’s passion and lust will cause us to make impulsive “screw it!” decisions and want us to disconnect from our logical selves because “I deserve this!” or having an overly optimistic blind faith that can put us at risk of having to go back to the gov’t job we burned the bridge while deciding to live our YOLO life! Passion is purposeful and a beautiful launching pad but we need more than launching fuel to get off the ground…we need enough fuel to launch us into the self-sustained orbit we’re aiming for so we dont crash back into the earth (oof.)
(a part of me does not like writing this because I am such a super-feeler that in some ways I'm like “ew Katie…do you hear yourself right now???” but don’t worry I'm getting to the good stuff).
Realizing how we ping pong in our minds and between emotion and logic has been really helpful for me. I’ll give you an example of how I approached a decision recently that honoured both these parts of me and helped make a grounded not mediocre decision.
New Coach : New Approach
I recently decided to start working with a new mentor who in my perspective is quite “elite”. When I met her it just clicked and our continued connection afterward did not disappoint but rather continued to exceed my expectations. As I learned about her services I knew she was the right person to get me to where I want to go. Sow what was the problem when making this decisions? Let's break it down on how I ended up moving forward with her.
Emotionally I was on board. Every conversation I had with this woman I felt incredibly seen, heard, and left with hope for my future. We got off a call and I was crying at the end with relief. Emotion was THERE!!! I was sold and I was all in and I felt like she was an answer to so many of my questions and so many of my desperate prayers. I was so emotionally certain about her that I told her I would join her group the next day.
But something stopped me from signing up right away.
Emotion would have me jump in prematurely because “this is it!”. Logically I could also see how she would lead me and provide purposeful mentorship and help me with direction… BUT logically I was also struggling with her prices. I was NOT sold on her price point. That's ok…we dont have to agree with people’s pricing but we have to wrestle with it if we want access to them. Her pricing was logically a no but as I allowed myself to incorporate the full body yes her pricing actually challenged me to grow substantially before even signing up for the program (further proving how much this woman would challenge me). Logically I was able to argue why I should and shouldn’t justify spending the money… leaving me stuck… but if logic was 100% the decision maker it would've been a no because it was “too expensive” and would have placed me back at mediocre square one. Lost, overwhelmed, hopeless.
Wise decisions making may look like this
Instead of listening to my emotions and throwing caution to the wind and ignoring the needed caution of my logic I decided to intentionally press pause and contemplate this decision with intention. I messaged her and said I need more time and she advised she understood. I acknowledged the emotional part of my needs that were getting met by this opportunity. I acknowledged how calm and regulated and hopeful I felt and that I wasn't chasing a rush or trying to escape, but rather positioning myself alongside someone that would continue to make me feel this, which is what I desire from a mentor. I’m not going to lie, I played a strong game of ping pong in my brain and I noticed while playing ping pong how I wasn’t including how my body felt with this idea. So I began integrating the two.
I said things like
“You know you want to do this so what’s holding you back?” I then gave each concern the attention it deserved so I could listen to the wisdom it offered. ie “what if you commit and you can’t follow through because of PMDD, it’ll be a huge waste of money”. Or “Maybe we can find another coach who’s more in your budget” etc. Valid concerns that needed genuine answers. Would I 100% commit or find excuses???… Would I be financially stressed thinking someone cheaper could help? All valid questions.
I also asked financially attuned questions (so important!!).
“If you took money out of the equation what would be your answer?”
I asked myself:
“What makes you nervous about financially investing SO much into you and your dreams?”
“If you have the money and want to do it, why are you making this decision harder than it is? Can you be grateful that you have the opportunity and the finances to be able to do this? Can you be cheerful and grateful in your purchase instead of fearful and skeptical?”
I allowed logic to look at the timing of when I could reasonably start the program because doing it the next day was not within my capacity and would’ve stressed me out (which would have been a stressed and overwhelming failure to launch). I looked at my calendar and found a date that allowed me to give my current projects the attention and intention they needed and not overwhelm myself with another passionate idea.
After integrating thoughts and emotions I remember thinking to myself “I want to do it, have the money, and this start date feels right.” It was honestly such a peaceful outcome. It felt right, it felt aligned, it sparked joy, it was a full body yes, a 10/10 decision and the process of making it allowed me to 100% fully get on board in a sustainable appropriately fueled integrated way.
An Unexpected Outcome: Staying Honest Inside the Decision
An honest update: In October 2025 I joined the coaching program fully committed to the one-year container. Within a month, my body knew it wasn’t the right fit. I listened—and the coach and I mutually agreed it wasn’t aligned. So I quit it.
When something doesn’t work, it’s easy to spiral into shame and tell ourselves we chose wrong. From there, we often force ourselves to stay, to push through, to make it “worth it,” even when it’s no longer helpful or enjoyable.
This wasn’t a wrong decision—it was an honest one. I continued to honor myself inside the choice instead of abandoning my intuition out of fear or pride. I allowed myself to change my mind without shame.
It wasn’t a waste of money, even if it was an expensive lesson. It gave me clarity. And now I feel far more peace and certainty working with my previous coach—someone I know, without wavering, is the right fit.
Here’s the thing: You don’t know until you know. You need to walk out your decision to know if it’s the right fit for you as well. Your decision prior to walking it out is simply your “best (integrated) guess.” Don’t be afraid to “fail” because you didn’t. You were brave, bold, courageous, and attuned in the process of making your decision… and babe, that’s the goal. Kindness toward yourself is part of making and walking out good decisions and includes knowing when to quit.
Let’s Do this - together
As you read this, I want to invite you to consider how you’re making decisions in your life—emotionally, logically, and financially—and whether they add up to a full-body yes or a quiet internal override. Because your decisions don’t just shape moments… they shape your life.
Today, I’m committing to making integrated decisions—choices that feel genuinely good in my body and give me the space and time to address my logical concerns with care. Decisions that help me know I’m not chasing a feeling, running from a problem, or living from fear.
When I allow myself to make true 10/10 full-body yes decisions, I don’t need to escape my life or convince myself to stay in environments I no longer feel purposefully connected to.
These choices regulate the body, restore hope and safety in the mind, and reconnect you to something bigger than just getting through the day—or staying somewhere because it’s familiar, comfortable, or “fine enough.”
Your challenge is simple, but not easy: Before your next yes or no, ask yourself:
“Which part of me is leading this decision right now—my emotions, my logic, or my fear around money? And what would it look like to integrate all three so this choice feels grounded, safe, and true in my body?”
Because the life you want isn’t built in one brave decision.
It’s built in the little ones you make every day.
These are my honest and raw thoughts,
I hope they help,
Katie
