Things To Consider Today

Rationalizing Too Much  

A common thing people do is rationalize to themselves why they should do something. After all, it makes perfect sense to them, so why not do it. Unfortunately, all of us can talk ourselves into a lot of things that we shouldn’t do.

The word rationalize has several meanings. One is to employ reason, which is a good thing to do. There are other ways to rationalize that are not so good. You use poor logic in your thinking, draw improper conclusions, and end up making wrong decisions. You give weak excuses for poor performance or improper conduct. You strive to justify wrong behavior. A favorite way to do this is make yourself an exception to general rules or laws that apply to everyone. These types of rationalizations represent poor thinking, and usually lead to wrong choices. The goal is to use rational thinking in constructive ways, without falling into the trap of using it too much in improper and ineffective ways, so it ends up working against you.

As we lead our lives, we seek after many things. We want them for a variety of reasons. So we began to take steps to obtain them.

Our reasons for seeking something vary. We may think we deserve it and we’ve waited long enough to get it. It’s our right to have something. It’s our money to buy it, and we can use our money the way we want. What we seek doesn’t seem to hurt those around us, so why not get what we want? Perhaps we just want to indulge. Maybe we have an addiction. In all cases we believe that what we seek will benefit us in some way.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of justifying to ourselves what we’ re doing. We may think we’re an exception to the rule, when we aren’t. We can handle the responsibility or outcome, when we can’t. It effects us only, when in reality others are impacted or affected in some way by our choices and behavior. We can easily overrate our ability to handle certain things like drugs or stress or responsibility. We say to ourselves, I will do this only once, but often once leads to additional times and eventual problems. I won’t get caught, or so we think, but often we do. This approach or method or strategy will work for me, even if it doesn’t work for most people.

All of the above are typical ways people rationalize in order to justify to themselves that what they do is okay. The problem is that a lot of this type of rationalizing creates problems for the individual.

As I look back in my life, I can clearly see now decisions made at the time that seemed okay. But I was actually rationalizing in different ways and to various degrees for specific choices and decisions. Sometimes my rationalizing was very subtle, or I didn’t see the full impact clearly at the time. Months or years later, the outcome clearly demonstrated that I had used poor judgment or some faulty reasons. I assumed my situation was different. Even though I didn’t do a lot of obvious or dumb things, I still suffered the consequences of my rationalizing. In most cases it denied me growth or benefits or fulfillment of some type. Besides this, it affected members of my family and others I worked with or associated with on a personal basis.

As you look into your life, can you see evidences of too much rationalization? For example, you have problems now due to poor choices and decisions in the past. You look for all the reasons to do something, and not fully consider all the resulting consequences. You judge yourself too leniently and others too harshly. This makes it easy to overrate your own abilities. You blame others and circumstances too much, and yourself not enough. You think that just because others have something, you should too. You use poor logic to justify what you want, and it’s ultimately not for your own good in the long run.

There are several things you can do to avoid improper rationalizing that works against you. Be honest with yourself and others at all times. See things as they really are, and not what you want them to be. Seek things that will truly help you and others in a positive way. Understand all that is involved before you make a choice or decision, and then act on it. Think clearly at all times, and don’t make decisions in haste, nor when you’re having a bad day. Seek advice from others who have good judgment or experience or a proven track record in the area of your concern. Remember that rationalizing can be very subtle and hardly noticeable in some cases, so be on guard for this. These type of guidelines will still permit lots of thinking. You will still rationalize, make choices, and act on them. But it will be good rationalizing or the type that produces good results, rather than the type that creates problems for you.

To further minimize improper rationalizing, look inside yourself. Do not be stubborn, nor too independent for your own good. Be humble, not proud. Gain knowledge and useful experience. Learn to organize and control your thoughts and thinking patterns. Keep emotions under control at all times. All these things require effort, discipline, and vigilance, but they do help you to rationalize in effective and proper ways.

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Copyright  2008     Leland Pulley