Emotions


The word emotion can be traced to the Latin word motere , meaning ˜˜to set in motion or ˜˜to stir. Thus, emotion implies action. Even sadness brings about the action of pulling back from circumstances. It is about buying time to stay safe while the mind processes some kind of loss. Indeed, when we get emotional we are motivated. Thats why our employers want us to embrace a mission; they want us to be excited by it so that we move on it and make it happen.

I have learned from the work of the great American philosopher and psychologist William James that a great way to observe the effect of emotion on your motivation is to observe what goes through your mind when you wake up without the aid of an alarm clock from a full nights sleep. Try it. You will notice that the topic that immediately precedes your getting out of bed is usually the one with which you have some emotional connection. When I woke up this morning, I knew I didnt have to get up right away and I began to think about a whole array of topics. I thought about having to go to the hardware store for lightbulbs; I thought about why I lost last nights game of chess; I had a bunch of thoughts about money- related issues; I remembered I needed batteries for a flashlight for an upcoming canoe trip; I thought about this chapter and how I had to include the concept that just because emotions are often about artificial constructs, that doesnt mean they dont have to be processed and then, wham, I was out of bed. Lightbulbs, batteries, and trips to the bank could wait: I wanted to get to my computer. Scientists have different views on which emotions are primary. One view is that the main emotions are anger, sadness, fear, enjoyment, love, surprise, disgust, and shame. Each of these has its own variations. For example, under the heading of anger might be frustration. Feelings of rejection might come under the heading of sadness. Sometimes, our feelings are a result of two distinct emotions that have been blended. Joy and fear, for example, perhaps produce guilt.

According to the Transcendence Model, what follows from the meta-level creation of self is the tendency to want and to judge. We judge to see whether our wants are being met, and we emote as a consequence. When we arent getting what we want, we might experience anger or sadness. When we are, we experience enjoyment. When we project our thoughts to the future, we may dabble in fear.

There are two senses of the word fear , and it would be useful to differentiate them now. One sense of the word pertains to a specific thing being feared. For example, if you hate to jump off high diving boards as I doand you find yourself standing on one trying to muster the courage to let go, then fear is a good descriptor of your experience. There is a specific thing you are afraid of, and it is staring you in the face. This experience of fear is measurable and can easily be seen to correlate with the thing that evokes it. If I get off the diving board, the fear goes away.

This is not the sense of our use of the word, however. In this book we have been discussing a much more pervasive feeling of fear, a feeling frequently present in the lives of the types of people being discussed. You might call our use of the word fear an existential use, as in pertaining to the nature of existence. The suggestion is that many of us walk around feeling a general insecurity that seems very much like fear. It is not specific like the fear of jumping from high places into water. It is more general. The effect, however, is still the same. It is an emotional response to what is being perceived in the world of objects. It is a signal designed to get a response. It is a necessary and good component of our makeup .




Face It. Recognizing and Conquering The Hidden Fear That Drives All Conflict At Work
Face It. Recognizing and Conquering The Hidden Fear That Drives All Conflict At Work
ISBN: 814408354
EAN: N/A
Year: 2002
Pages: 134

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