The Primacy of Emotions
“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.” – Zig Ziglar
In fact, emotions are why we do everything.
Logical, thoughtful, consideration may be a precursor to action, but without the animating energy of emotions nothing happens.
Yes, our thoughts determine our lives, but emotions actually create our lives.
I recently had a bit of a revelation: emotions are our thoughts embodied.
That “definition” might not seem all that ground-breaking – and for anyone but me, it’s likely not – but having a way to understand the link between our thoughts and emotions has been personally very useful.
Emotions are how we (get to) physically experience our thoughts.
Understanding that our physical experience of life is through our emotions, and that emotions are the catalyst for all movement, is fundamental to achievement and happiness.
If we are able to master our emotions – i.e. choose our thoughts wisely and the physical states they beget – we can master our lives.
In a practical sense, one thing you can do to begin to master your emotions is notice and record them.
As an exercise, notice and record your emotions at regular intervals during the day; also, see how specific you can about what you’re feeling.
To take this a step further, when recording your emotions, ask yourself what thoughts are required for the various emotions (and, if these thoughts serve you – or not… ).
