I Trust Hotheads With The Best Intentions

We’re so often told to keep a cool head that we often forget the best intentions come from the warmest of hearts

Photo by Olivier Collet

Cool heads get all the praise.

It is certainly useful to keep one. They often lead to more balanced perspectives, which in turn lead to better decisions, which lead to more trust and, finally, to more power and influence.

On the other hand, hot heads wreak havoc. They tend to cause impulsive reactions rather than thought-out actions, bursts of temperament that cause disruption around the perpetrator and a general feeling of unfairness, anger or guilt on the receiving end.

There is a usually disregarded side to this conflict, however. Well planned actions, clear goals, measured approaches, they all seem to focus entirely on the individual behind the strategy rather than on those impacted by it. Naturally, because the subject is cool-headed, they will have had the time and intelligence to make it all look like they were doing everyone a favour.

I have seen many a cool head on top of a cold heart.

It is fascinating what happens when the the temperature decreases south of the body. Cold hearts aren’t nearly as popular. We want them warm, don’t we? Cold hearts are cruel and selfish and dishonest.

Just like coldness may spread, warmth also comes at the risk of turning hot, and so we end up with many a warm heart heating up otherwise rational brains.

Hotheads are passionate, energetic, enthusiastic, and they speak the truth, at least their individual truth, for whatever it is worth. This is the truth of the how if not of the what, but it is the truth nonetheless, and it’s scarce in today’s world.

I trust hotheads more than I do their opposite, perhaps not to be in charge of future plans, but always to sow the seeds of the best intentions.