A young girl asked her mother “Mummy, what’s the difference between anger and exasperation?” Her mother replied: “It’s the same emotion really, the difference is a matter of degree. Here, I’ll show you exactly what I mean.”
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The mother rang a number at random. To the man who answered she said, “Hello, is Michelle there?”
The man answered, “There is no one living here named Michelle. Why don't you learn to look up numbers before you dial!”.
“See,” said the mother, “that man was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him. Now watch...”
The mother dialled the number again. “Hello, is Michelle there?” she asked.
“Now look here!” came the heated reply. “You just called this number and I told you that there is no Michelle here!”
The mother turned to her daughter, “Now, that was anger.”
She dialled the same number three more times, with increasingly furious responses.
Finally, she said: “Now I'll show you what exasperation is.”
She dialled the same number, and when a violent voice roared “What?” the mother calmly said, “Hello, this is Michelle. Have there been any calls for me?”
Canadian author Brian Tracy believes not just most, but 100 per cent of all our decisions are emotional.
Is he right? I’m musing if he’s wrong he’s not far wrong; at least for big decisions that are made quickly.
Emotions have started wars and ended wars. Emotions can get you married and they can get you divorced.
It is interesting that who you marry – perhaps the biggest decision of your life – is a decision you usually make in a very emotional state.
Witness any discussion on marriage at a party, or when human life begins, and you’ll see emotions rise pretty quickly.
Especially if the combatants have had a few drinks.
I feel the power of emotional politics played a major role in the recent Wentworth byelection between Liberal’s David Sharma and independent candidate Kerryn Phelps.
When I was a boy, elections were between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Coalition, with the independents thrown in for a bit of comic relief.
As Dr Phelps has shown, those days are clearly gone.
Canadian author Brian Tracy believes not just most, but 100 per cent of all our decisions are emotional. Is he right? I’m musing if he’s wrong he’s not far wrong; at least for big decisions that are made quickly.
But why? Back in the day, your parents voted a certain way because their parents voted a certain way, and even though you knew nothing about politics – not that anybody actually does – you were voting as your parents were voting. These were, therefore, all emotional votes.
If the above is true, it’s hard to understate the significance of the recent Wentworth byelection.
The Liberals’ Sharma was hoping to retain the seat of Wentworth that had been held comfortably by dumped Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull was popular in his electorate, and it was his sacking as PM in August and his subsequent resigning from Parliament that triggered the poll.
It appears the electorate’s emotional attachment to Turnbull was stronger than it was to the Liberal Party. Voters were perhaps upset at the way that he was dispatched, as it was the first time the electorate changed hands from the Liberal Party or its predecessors since federation.
Clearly, the days of emotional voting are still not over.
Psychologist Michael Levine believes there is a constant arm wrestle going on in our mind between logic and reason.
He says a large percentage of the time, emotion wins.
Why deny it? Emotions influence our decisions.
So, now that we know this, let us make sure that we use emotions as a counsellor and not a jailer.
As soon as you find your emotions getting out of control, slow yourself down or even walk away for a time, as perhaps it’s not the best time to make a decision.
If, on the other hand, we have no emotion towards a person or an event, maybe we are not the best person to make a comment or give them advice.
Twitter: @fatherbrendanelee