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People almost always act first, then rationalize later. Whenever someone gives a profound argument for their behavior, it's rationalization rather than reality
by mattmaroon 16y ago
People almost always act first, then rationalize later. Whenever someone gives a profound argument for their behavior, it's rationalization rather than reality almost 100% of the time.
Thus when someone claims that their mohawk and f-bombs are part of a calculated persona, you can almost always be sure that that was originally just the way that person was, then came the rationalization that it's a calculated move to achieve some goal, which in turn reinforced and exaggerated the original behavior.
The upshot is, if he worked at McDonald's rather than his own startup, he'd probably still have a mohawk and drop f-bombs. He's just a mohawk wearing, f-bomb dropping kinda guy.
(That's not meant to be judgmental.)
- zackattack 16y agoI agree 100%, though it's possible that what Matt meant is that his mohawk functions as a signal to attract people like him: smart, yet extremely cool and laid-back. Btw, if you want to align yourself with reality instead of rationalizations, your best bet is to do some meditation and then set clear, conscious intentions for various areas of your life. Then in the future, when confronted with a decision, you can assess whether it will bring you towards or away from your crystallized intentions. Of course, rationalizations can still crop up, but I've found that this is a useful deterrent. Also, if you feel negative emotions but are still acting in service of your intention, it's a sign that you're probably engaging in "right action" instead of rationalization.
- steveklabnik 16y agoI'd say that what he meant was not that he started using swear words and grew a mohawk to implement a calculated persona, but that he allowed those parts of his personality to bleed over into his professional life as a conscious decision.