The other day, I was talking to someone about the popularity of SUVs. They
use unreasonable amounts of gas, they're rather large and awkward, and few
SUV owners actually use their vehicles for the one thing they're good for:
Off-roading.
  We came to the conclusion that people do it to feel safe. A larger vehicle
tends to intimidate a smaller one. As my discussion partner put it: "They do
it to protect themselves from other SUV owners."
  How ironic. If nobody had an SUV, nobody would need one.
  How much of the whole SUV thing is about image? A lot, it seems. People buy
them to appear "tough". They are used to make the driver feel powerful, or
dangerous. What makes "tough guys" try to maintain their image? They are
afraid of other tough guys.
  Taking this a step further, what inspires men to work out to get big
muscles? Chances are they'll never need all that physical strength. And they
don't do it for "health", as they sometimes claim. You don't need big muscles
to be healthy. Rather, they do it just for the way it makes them look (and
feel): "Buffed up". Tough.
  Tattoos, same thing. Very rarely are they used for "art" (another popular
excuse); A dragon on one's arm does not make an artistic expression. Instead,
it serves only to make them look tough.
  As much as they do it to show other people, tough guys probably do it even
more for themselves. They *feel* powerful. Indeed, many men who've spent
countless hours at the gym building up their muscles let their appearance go
to their head. They start to feel cocky. Unbeatable. Invincible. Their egos
grow with their muscles.
  Reality check: Nobody is ever invincible. Not even close. The world's
biggest, strongest man can still be killed instantly with a single tiny
bullet, or one sip of cyanide. The human body is a soft, fragile object. And
no amount of bench-pressing will ever change that. If somebody wants to hurt
you, they can do it very easily.
  On a similar note, just as nobody is physically bulletproof, neither is
anyone mentally so. But some people seem to think they are.
  How many people do you know who insist they are right, in defiance of all
logic or reason? They are absolutely convinced they have all the right
answers, because they believe they are smart enough to decide, on their own
intuition, what is right. "I am right, because I am right" is their circular
reasoning.
  Reality check: Nobody has all the right answers. No person's judgement can
be so perfect that they can judge everyone and everything. Those who think
they can, are deluding themselves. The person who says "I can judge anyone"
proves themself wrong, because they have misjudged themselves, just as the
one who says "I never lie" has just told a lie.
  This problem is compounded by people who believe that you should think with
your heart, rather than your head. "The heart never lies" is a common saying.
As an example, many young women have a deep longing to have children, even
before they have a steady job or any other foundation in life. Against advice
from friends or parents, the young woman decides to get pregnant, because her
heart feels it is right.
  You know the rest of the story: A few months later, the baby is born, the
father has disappeared, and the jobless, often homeless woman is left to fend
for herself and her baby.
  Common sense can tell you that this was a bad move. But the woman did not
listen to common sense; She thought with her heart. The heart lied.
  Your brain (common sense) and your heart (feelings) are twin
decision-making tools. Both have an important place. Each sees things from a
different perspective, and to make a balanced decision, both must have a say.
So the next time you're trying to decide something, especially if you
disagree with someone else, try to look at it from your head's point of view,
and your heart's; And of course, from the other person's as well, because
even if you listen to both your head and your heart, you're human, and you
can still be wrong.