Ethan1

Pragmatic thinking vs idealistic thinking

8 posts in this topic

Trying to understand this stuff. Just came across this thinking the other day. Sitting here thinking to myself about people that are more pragmatic compared to others that think more idealistically. 

Basically, I have a buddy that is horrible with his finances and wants to move in with me and travel. He wants to move 12 hours from Texas to live here. He only has a few hundred dollars in his name. Has been working all the time but no saving. For the most part, he sits around and talks about ideas but it never seems to be action focused. As if he is inflating a bubble of an idea. I decide to burst his bubble and get him to be practical. This causes him to become outraged as if I'm attacking him. I try to communicate the idealistic thinking. Get him to take action. 

Some (orange) people I have talked to are so myopic they can't even come up with a unique ideas. Lacking a clear vision or ideal. The more money focused person can be so caught up in the materialistic financial thinkkng to lack creative ideas. 

Stereotypically, it's like the (green) airy artsy creative person can be horrible with managing finances or being action focused. However, they can have some great ideas and thoughts. 

Confuses me on how to bridge these two mindsets. A person who is more pragmatic doesn't want to hear too many ideas or contemplation. On the other hand, the creative thinker or mental masterbater gets aggressive when the bubbles are being brought back down to earth. 

Honestly, I think I'm more of an idealistic person than a pragmatic goal oriented person right now. My mind likes to think about these ideas and go down rabbit holes. However, I also try to be practical in regards to finance and creating a small business(orange) so I understanding there's a balance of this stuff. I am working hard to being more practical and task oriented to make progress. 

.. 

I'm open to discussing this concept if it helps other people recognize where they fall. For me it has been eye opening to recognize this. 

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I would say that in an everyday sense there is a difference between just thinking about things and taking action. I don't think that a pragmatic thinker is any more or less prone to taking action than an idealistic (or arty) thinker. However, the nature of their actions will be very different.

A pragmatic thinker might be more logical and rely on common sense and as a consequence is better at planning and project management. But a pragmatic thinker may have a narrower range of choices because their thinking is more inflexible. An idealistic thinker will be wildly more flexible by having lots of constantly changing ideas - it could lead to paralysis in taking action - but may also lead to a more flexible approach to problem solving and taking action.

If you're running a business having both types of people is great, and maybe a third person to mediate between them (the finance director)!


All stories and explanations are false.

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@Ethan1 This really can be transcended, for it's a false dichotomy. From a certain POV it for sure seems like they are opposites, but that's in the unhealthy cases - that of myopia with daily trivia, and the daydreaming that follows from not fully embracing your current situation. When one is mature, those are not really separate things. You work with small steps towards your vision and purpose. And what bridges the two "perspectives" is a great amount of self - love and drive towards a life purpose. The more transcended and conscious it is, the more selfless you are  the more you can bring your Will into existence. 

Edited by Ero

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2 hours ago, Ethan1 said:

Confuses me on how to bridge these two mindsets.

With less words, you are that bridge. 

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This is a duality and must collapse.

The fully integrated individual dreams up the highest vision they can possibly imagine for their life and makes a concrete plan to actualize it. 

 

People sometimes call themselves 'pragmatic' or 'practical' thinkers and separate themselves from 'idealistic' people because they are too afraid to fail so they don't allow themselves to dream as a nice little self deception mechanism 

Idealism and pragmatism are completely relative to what you think is possible in life given your current situation. 

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Simple.

They merge.

Practical is to the training and physical you're meant to employ to achieve the vision (idealism).

Without both neither would work to its full potential.

Most people have one or the other or neither.

Really think about that, this means that even on this forum you're getting ideas from people that only have one or the other or neither.

Try and have both, incrementally towards their dual enhancement.

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15 hours ago, Ethan1 said:

Confuses me on how to bridge these two mindsets. A person who is more pragmatic doesn't want to hear too many ideas or contemplation. On the other hand, the creative thinker or mental masterbater gets aggressive when the bubbles are being brought back down to earth. 

That is yellow territory, it maintains orange pragmatism while tapping green creativity. When you go into yellow, you will be able to navigate the relationships with these people through your own experience at being these stages.

The particular green idealist you're dealing with has an orange shadow. He skipped a stage because he couldn't handle it (for various legitimate reasons), so when you touch that area, he gets defensive. The shift out of orange into green happens because of awareness of orange's destructive excesses. When green heals itself, uncovers and embraces its layers, it transitions into yellow.

Edited by tsuki

Bearing with the conditioned in gentleness, fording the river with resolution, not neglecting what is distant, not regarding one's companions; thus one may manage to walk in the middle. H11L2

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No Action = No Results 

Action × % Right Action × Time = Results

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