Middleportal.com – We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, navigating life with a compass of logic and a map of sound judgment. However, if we take a moment to look back at our choices—or observe the world around us—it becomes clear that human logic is often more flexible than we’d care to admit. We are masters of rationalization, capable of turning even the most questionable choices into “strategic moves” when we explain them to others.
The truth is that our brains are wired for survival and comfort, not always for cold, hard efficiency. This often leads us into the territory of illogical decision making, where we prioritize our feelings, our pride, or our past habits over the reality sitting right in front of us. Understanding why we defend these choices is the first step toward making better ones.
What is Illogical Decision Making?
At its core, illogical decision making occurs when a person chooses a path that contradicts available evidence, objective facts, or their own long-term best interests. It isn’t necessarily a sign of low intelligence; rather, it’s often a result of cognitive biases. These are mental shortcuts that help us process information quickly but can lead us to skewed conclusions. Whether it’s the “sunk cost fallacy”—where we keep investing in a losing project because we’ve already spent so much—atau emotional reasoning, these internal “bugs” in our mental software make us fiercely defend ideas that are, objectively speaking, quite poor.
Prioritizing Immediate Emotional Gratification
One of the most common ways we slip into illogical territory is by choosing what feels good right now over what serves us later. We are biological creatures designed to seek dopamine, and immediate gratification provides a quick hit of it. This might look like staying up late to finish a TV show when you have a massive presentation at 8:00 AM, or choosing a decadent dessert when you’re working toward health goals.
When challenged, we often defend these choices as “self-care” or “living in the moment.” While balance is important, consistently favoring the “now” at the expense of the “future self” is a classic illogical trap. We tell ourselves we deserve the reward, ignoring the fact that the stress of the consequences will far outweigh the fleeting pleasure of the choice.
Ignoring Clear Financial Red Flags
Money is an area where logic often goes to die. Many people find themselves defending financial decisions that are clearly unsustainable. Whether it’s taking on high-interest debt for a luxury item or investing in a business venture that has shown no growth for years, we tend to put on blinkers when we want something badly enough.
We often justify these red flags by focusing on “potential” rather than performance. We convince ourselves that the market will turn or that a windfall is just around the corner. By ignoring the data—the bank statements and the mounting interest—we protect our ego from the realization that we’ve made a financial misstep, even as the situation worsens.
Following Outdated Traditional Methods
There is a certain comfort in the phrase, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Tradition provides a sense of identity and stability, but it can also be a significant barrier to progress. Following outdated methods in a rapidly changing world is a form of illogical stubbornness that people defend out of a sense of loyalty or fear of the unknown.
In professional or personal life, sticking to “the old ways” when more efficient, safer, or kinder methods exist is counterproductive. We defend these methods because they are familiar, even when they no longer produce the desired results. We mistake longevity for efficacy, assuming that because something worked thirty years ago, it must still be the best option today.
Relying Solely on Gut Feelings
We often hear people say, “I just have a feeling about this,” as if intuition is an infallible superpower. While gut feelings are actually our subconscious recognizing patterns based on past experience, they are not a substitute for facts. Relying solely on intuition while ignoring contradictory data is a recipe for illogical outcomes.
The danger lies in our tendency to trust our “gut” more than experts or evidence. We defend this by calling it “vision” or “instinct,” but without grounding that feeling in reality, it’s often just a manifestation of our internal biases. A feeling can be a great starting point, but it shouldn’t be the final word in a major decision.
Resisting Change Despite Obvious Failure
There is a peculiar human tendency to hold onto a sinking ship. When a project, a habit, or a strategy is clearly failing, the logical response is to pivot. Instead, many people double down. This resistance to change is often fueled by the fear of admitting defeat or the exhaustion of starting over.
We defend these failing paths by insisting that we just need more time or more resources. We view “quitting” as a moral failure rather than a strategic correction. In reality, staying the course on a failed mission is far more damaging than the temporary discomfort of changing direction.
Staying in Toxic Professional Environments
Work consumes a huge portion of our lives, yet many people stay in environments that are actively detrimental to their mental and physical health. The logic used to defend staying in a toxic job usually centers on “resilience” or “the need for a paycheck,” even when other opportunities exist or the current situation is causing long-term burnout.
We tell ourselves that things will get better when a certain manager leaves or a project ends, but toxicity is often systemic. Defending the choice to stay in a soul-crushing environment often stems from a lack of confidence or a fear that the grass isn’t actually greener elsewhere, leading us to settle for a miserable certainty.
Investing Based on Social Hype
In the digital age, “Fear Of Missing Out” (FOMO) has become a primary driver of illogical financial moves. When everyone on social media is talking about a new cryptocurrency, a specific stock, or a “must-have” gadget, logic often exits the room. People jump into investments without understanding the underlying value, simply because they don’t want to be left behind.
When these hyped-up investments fail, the defense is usually that “it was a calculated risk” or “the market was manipulated.” In truth, the decision was based on social pressure rather than research. Following the crowd feels safe in the moment, but the crowd isn’t always headed in the right direction.
Overlooking Expert Data and Facts
We live in an era where information is at our fingertips, yet we have never been more prone to ignoring experts. Whether it’s in the realm of science, economics, or engineering, there is a growing trend of “doing your own research” to justify views that contradict established data.
This is often defended as “independent thinking.” While questioning authority is healthy, ignoring the consensus of those who have dedicated their lives to a field—without having comparable evidence—is illogical. We tend to pick and choose the facts that fit our existing narrative, creating a fortress of misinformation that is difficult to dismantle.
Justifying Excessive Impulse Purchases
Retail therapy is a well-known phenomenon, but excessive impulse spending is often defended as a series of “great deals.” We tell ourselves we’re saving money by buying something on sale that we never actually needed in the first place. This illogical loop keeps our closets full and our savings accounts empty.
The defense here is usually based on the “value” of the item rather than the necessity of the purchase. We focus on the percentage saved rather than the total spent. It’s a classic example of how we use logic to justify an emotional urge to possess something new.
Maintaining Harmful Personal Relationships
Perhaps the most painful area of illogical decision-making is in our personal lives. Many people stay in relationships that are draining, disrespectful, or stagnant, defending their choice with “the history we share” or “the potential they have to change.”
While loyalty is a virtue, it becomes illogical when it is one-sided or destructive. We defend these bonds because the thought of being alone or the pain of a breakup is more frightening than the daily grind of an unhappy relationship. We convince ourselves that “love is enough,” even when respect and safety are missing.
Doubling Down on Losing Streaks
Known in psychology as the “gambler’s fallacy,” this is the belief that because something has been going wrong for a long time, it is “due” to go right. We see this in casinos, but also in business and personal projects. If someone has lost five times in a row, they might bet even more on the sixth attempt, convinced the tide must turn.
The logic used to defend this is that “persistence pays off.” While persistence is important, doubling down on a losing strategy without changing the variables is simply repeating the same mistake with higher stakes. It’s an emotional attempt to win back lost pride, but it rarely ends well.
Avoiding Necessary Medical Interventions
Finally, many people avoid the doctor or refuse necessary treatments, defending their choice through a lens of “natural living” or “it’s not that bad.” Fear of a diagnosis or a general distrust of institutions leads to the illogical conclusion that ignoring a health problem will make it go away.
We defend this by claiming we know our bodies best. While intuition about our own health is valuable, it cannot replace professional diagnostics. Avoiding the inevitable only makes the eventual intervention more difficult and costly.
Reflecting on Our Choices
The human mind is a beautiful, complex, and occasionally stubborn thing. We all fall into these traps of illogical decision making from time to time, and that’s okay—it’s part of the human experience. The goal isn’t to be perfectly rational 100% of the time, as that would make for a very dull life. Instead, the goal is to develop the self-awareness to recognize when we are defending a poor idea simply because we’re afraid to admit we were wrong.
