I have preferred my head to my heart to put my thoughts on this topic. "Dil pe mat le yaar" is a typical comment you would hear from a tough person, who listens to his head or is more practical than his friend who prefers his heart to his head, in short who is "emotional".

It would be justified to weigh this interesting topic through the different facets. Now let’s take an example of our professional life. As simple observation will tell you, all higher authorities in an organisation are professional and prefer their head to their heart for decision-making. This is also taught in our good old management theories, but is it the case now?

Certainly not. We hear of the evolving management fundamentals like ‘emotional leadership’ is a must if one wishes to take the company from good to great. But does it mean that a CEO or a leader should listen to his heart? Here comes the point of debate: whether to listen to your inner voice (heart) or to consider the facts during decision-making. As far as professional life goes, one should be practical (prefer head). However, the person should also balance the ‘emotional’ or heart call to manage interpersonal skills.

Coming to our personal lives, have you noticed that you are more bound to listen to your heart, particularly if it is related your nearest and dearest ones? Even the advertisements and the Hindi films these days try to bribe your heart. Most of the times, one is bound to make a decision preferring the heart. Do you think you are motivated / energised to achieve your "Lakshya" after watching the film? In real life scenarios, however, one tends to think twice, listening to the head before taking a step.

Examples from history illustrate the pros and cons of the preference of head over heart. The ‘Swarjya Sthapana’ in Maharashtra and the ‘Chanakya Niti’ are examples of the head ruling over the heart. On the contrary, our freedom movement became a gigantic mass movement because of the involvement of the heart.

Friends, we should remember the story of the mother monkey and its drowning child. Mother monkey listened to her heart and tried to save her drowning child till the water had risen to the level of her nose. When the water level was above her head, practical wisdom dawned on her and she let go of her child and saved herself.

The moral of the story is that depending on the situation, listen to your heart (do as your Dil Chahata hai) or head (Wahi Jo Dimag bole) whichever shows you the way.

{Images have been sourced from the Internet}