Just because your heart wants something doesn’t mean it’s wise to pursue it. When it comes to our emotions, rational thinking and logic are rarely in the room when our heart is speaking to us. The language of our wants rarely focuses on what makes sense, but rather on what will scratch an itch we have inside.
As someone who’s pursuing his life aspirations, I’m completely down for folks to chase what their heart desires to the ends of the earth. Death is the only true deterrent, and once that occurs, it doesn’t matter because the game is over.
There are a few things that we should keep in mind, though.
Following our heart is simply giving in to an urge that we believe needs to be quenched. It doesn’t fit within the confines of making sense but more of feeling good. Some who consider themselves to be realists have issues with this because they feel it’s too idealistic and can lead to much pain. Personally, I agree to some extent, but think we need to differentiate the ideas of immediate gratification and authentic passion.
Fear is a large roadblock for our heart, and can be used as support for our brains to tell us to stay safe and avoid risk. What are we really staying safe from? Death? That can only be delayed, not avoided. Failure? That’s an essential part of growth. Suffering? That’s an essential tool for survival. Playing it safe doesn’t ensure anything in a universe where we have very little control.
Your heart is not your heart; it’s just a romanticized label for another part of your brain. It’s not a simple black-and-white idea that we’re using logic versus love. There are multiple parts of our psyche that come into play every day when we interact with ourselves and the outside world.
We’re highly self-indulged animals, and are pretentious enough to believe that everything and everyone was created for our bidding. This is one of the reasons we internalize and relive our suffering so much. It’s a Why me? complex that allows us to ignore those around us and focus solely on the pointless things that are bothersome in our lives.
There isn’t a RIGHT way to live your life. Even if you make an unwise decision, you have the power to turn it into gold. Only you know the desires that exist inside you, and if those desires don’t result in harm and exploitation of others, then they may be worth exploring. People want to make up stereotypical deathbed regrets, but really the only one I can think of is that we may not enjoy the end of a life we didn’t bother taking the time to design the way we wanted.
Is this an easy task? No. Is it worth it? For sure. (If I read your mind, you owe me another $5.)
Don’t be afraid to get hurt; it’s part of life. It’s only unnecessary if there’s nothing to learn from it, and there’s always something to learn from it if your mind is open enough.