How do you distinguish whether you should listen to your heart or your brain?

I'm a guy that ended a relationship with my ex because I knew that it would be the best decision for the both of us. My heart still really loves her but I know in my mind that it is not going to work because she is not "the one" for me to spend the rest of my life with. Let me ask you.If you continued to listen your heart and stay would you be regretting it day by day in your mind? I don't think you just woke up one day and felt like moving forward with actually breaking up. Did you think he could have been "the one"?

I hope I'm not reading too much into this but what's alarming is you said " NO, its going to end after the infatuation is over, and personalities clash" and also "for once in my life I listened to my brain instead of my heart". To me, it sounds like you have been hurt before and did not want to deal with the pain of another guy breaking up with you "after the infatuation is over". It sounds like you choose between the fear/pain of getting hurt by him ending the relationship or you ending the relationship first. If this is the case (and you REALLY liked this guy), please don't end a relationship this way unless in your heart and mind you know that he is not "the one". I say please don't do this because I'd hate for you to develop a fatalistic attitude about relationships and you could be setting yourself up for developing a pattern of doing this (because you don't think your new relationship will last).

However to answer your question of how to accept you decision and move on.You are having second thoughts now because the breakup is new and the pain is still raw. Your heart is having a hard time accepting it. Like most couples you probably had routines and loved communicating with your mate daily. Now it's gone, you're thinking about the big and little things you miss, and you feel responsible because you ended it. Trust me, no one wants to end something special with someone they love but if you know in your heart of hearts (and mind) that he is not the one long term, you did the right thing. Just take some time, grieve, believe there is someone better suited for you out there, and meet some new people. I love my ex and she probably still loves me but I know now that it's over she'll take her time and the hurt she has for me will fade to make way for a new love. Hopefully you will do the same.

How interesting----so the brain said it won't work out, but in your heart you knew that it would?
I think males tend to listen to their brain (yea iknow, if we got any brains) more than they do to their hearts,and all I can tell you is that every time I listened to that little voice (intuition) or heart as you call it, I made the right decision; whenever I sat there analyzing the situation, and I made the choice based on wht the brain said, most of the times the decision was wrong, or not the best; in the end though, it works out, but I wasn't as happy with the end result. Females are by nature more intuitive so I see that my female friends---whenever they have a feeling about something----99% of the times is right, and that's why they always go by what their heart tells them. I had a friend that used to tell me, if you are trying to decide between brain or heart, go for the decision that makes you less nauseated; however, it turns out that if you follow that, then you're following your intuition, not your brain.
At this point though, is your heart saying that you made a mistake?

Well, I'm in the same situation.unfortunately, on the other end of the stick. My boyfriend broke up with ME because his brain tells him that we don't get along well enough and it'll end bad one day. But, at the same time, he tells me he really loves me and wishes we didn't have problems getting along.
I've asked him to try again a million times and he keeps saying no.so as someone you is on the side of the man you just left.if you LOVE him, then you can make it work. But, it'll take compromise and effort. I know in my heart that if he gave me an opportunity to try again, we could make it work with some effort.so, in the end, do you love him enough to try? If you do, then sit down with him and talk about your problems.there are a million books out there to help people communicate better.

Just gonna be straight and to the point with my answer.maybe it was a mistake. You think about him all day and night, maybe ur head was wrong and you really should have followed your heart. Re-evaluate the whole break up, relationship, and reasons for breaking up.maybe you'll see it was a mistake, and sometimes mistakes can be fixed.
Hope all works out for the best, take care! xxo

My ex broke up with me using his brain. I know he did not follow his heart because he did not want our relationship to end. He only ended it because he felt I would be happier and he felt in the long run it would be the better decision. We were very much in love. This post makes me wonder if my ex believes he made the right or wrong decision.

This is a tricky one. I really don't have much experience doing the breaking up, so it's difficult to relate. If you truly believe things between the two of you would not have improved, then your probably made the right decision and you just need to accept it and move on, BUT if you believe you two could have worked things out and your heart is telling you that you really love him, then I say maybe you should rethink things. If you try writing all the pros and cons down, this may help make your decision easier and clearer.