Rational people: these are their 5 characteristics

Rational people are not very common, because after all what we understand today by rationality is a recent invention. And it is that normally the existence of these individuals depends on where they were born and where they received their education during childhood and youth. Even today, adults on much of planet Earth continue to be guided by totally irrational beliefs and superstitions.

However, despite its rarity, when we are in front of a rational person it is recognized immediately… if we know how to pay attention to the appropriate signals.

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This is what rational people are like in their day to day

Below you can see a list of traits that define rational people in their way of thinking and relating to others. Keep in mind, however, that despite the stereotypes that run about people with an analytical mindset, it's not about robots. Someone rational can be too very emotional on certain occasions; the difference is in the way emotions are regulated.

1. They wait for the best moment to make important decisions

It is very common that, in practice, the first moment in which we must make a choice or make a decision coincides with a moment in which we become very emotionally activated.

Consider, for example, the one in which we are informed that we have been accepted into a prestigious university located outside our country: if we get carried away by the euphoria, perhaps we will accept the place and begin to make expenses for the transfer before consider if we have enough savings to choose this route, or if there are other responsibilities to attend to in our city of residence.

That is why rational people do not rush into making relevant decisions, at least if they believe that there is an emotional state that is skewing the interpretation of the facts.

2. They know that emotion and rationality are inseparable

Even the most rational people are aware that human beings cannot pretend to be robots, purely objective entities that analyze the facts coldly and distancing themselves from the facts. Believing otherwise would mean having no defenses to prevent cognitive biases and fall into a dogmatism according to which nothing is debatable.

Thus, when taking into account that emotions influence both where our attention is focused and the conclusions reached Analyzing that selected information, rational people have the opportunity to retrace their steps and wonder if they made any mistakes in their way of thinking. to reason.

• Related article: "Are we rational or emotional beings?

3. They believe in the power of consensus

However objective and rational we may pretend to be, we do not have immediate access to the truth. That is why consensus helps us better understand what is happening. Why? Because By combining ideas and points of view, new explanations appear and solutions to questions.

Thus, rationality implies, by force, exchange of views and debate. It is not a linear thought process carried out by a single person, for a very simple reason: being human means having access to a very limited amount of information and not having time to learn everything about reality. There will always be someone who knows more than we do on a particular subject, and the most reasonable thing to do is listen to what he has to say.

4. They experience their social relationships in a constructive way

Tending towards rationality means that, faced with the possibility of fighting with a friend or family member, do not act from resentment and the desire for revenge.

Thus, the way in which these disputes are handled is based on the assumption that the objective is not make our actions correspond to what you are feeling, if not what you should to be. It is an important nuance that, although it does not imply that the other will not suffer (if it is assumed that an exemplary punishment will cause a similar situation) Avoid a lot of unnecessary drama, as an emotional reaction increases the chances of an emotional response from the other.

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5. They try to anticipate the risks

Another defining characteristic of rational people is that do not readily give in to urgesBecause before taking actions that may compromise someone's well-being, they consider the risks and benefits.

Of course, this is a relative characteristic, since there is no human being capable of standing to constantly think about what the consequences of their actions may be in the medium and long term. However, rational people do it much more often than the rest, and they are especially skillful when it comes to detecting those moments in which it is worth stopping to think and not giving in to the most immediate desires.