Four Fingers

So, I've realized a while ago that emotions were generally bad things. They make me do stuff I don't want to do, and stop me from doing stuff I do want to do. You know, like shagging an underage girl, which was definitely a big mistake, or not asking her mother out, which I should have done but my cowardly emotions interfered.

Let's face it though, we aren't gonna beat them emotions. We're probably not even built biologically to be able to live without them. So we have to learn how to use and manipulate emotions for our own good. That's the bottom line.

And I think we do that all the time. When you're working out, it really hurts, so what you do is think about all the good things that'll come out of this, right? You're tricking your emotions. One emotion tells you, "Dude, that hurts. Just stop." So artifically you create another, stronger emotion that tell us, "Wouldn't it be cooler if you looked like Brad Pitt?" And if you're good in creating emotions, the second emotion will win, and you'll go on.


Now, what I've come to realize lately is that by being aware of this technique and planning its use more wisely, we can do some truly brilliant things. For example, I was able to create an irrational repulsive reaction to sweet drinks. One glass of cola can't do any harm. But I've made my brain immediately associate sweet drinks with ugly rotten teeth and bad breath. So now when I see a glass of cola, it repels me more than it attracts me. I bet you can do the same for smoking if you want.

Another thing is developing obsessions. Usually, obsessions are bad things. They are sort of emotions that make you do something too much, without control. But some things you do want to do more, don't you? I've built this artifical obsession that makes me wash my hands everytime I touch my cute cats. I just wasn't doing it before that. I was too lazy or too forgetful. But using this obsession, I now never forget. In fact, nothing stops me from washing my hands after touching a cat. Crazy, ain't it?



I wonder, what sort of similar stuff do you do? Share your tricks.

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"Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest."

lurkette

There's a difference between "emotions" and "impulses" or physical urges. For example, if I'm hungry, that's an impulse. If I'm sad and lonely and want to feel better and think that eating ice cream will make me feel better, that's an emotion.

Shagging a girl: impulse
Regret over shagging girl: emotion

Tired of lifting weights: impulse/sensation
Envy of Brad Pitt: emotion

Impulses are a lot easier to deal with, IMHO. They tend to demand their own satisfaction, and you either feed or deny that satisfaction. You might have some emotions during or as a result of those actions, but that's different from the impulses themselves.

Emotions are not a bad thing - they cement social relationships, they give us conscience, they tell us when a situation is dangerous. But I do think there's a lot of value in being able to control your emotions. Or, not necessarily control. Not sure you can do that. But identify the origins and then control the behavior that would result from the emotions. Am I particularly good at doing this? Not really. But I think recognition of the source of an emotion is a good start.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

Shadowman

Ok, I read the word 'emotions' in the title as 'emoticons'. Microsoft have warped my mind, god save me.

As for the real topic at state...I do the same as you, I see Maccas, I think overweight people, I see cigarettes, I think brown teeth, bad breat. I attach emotions to certain aspects of life to keep things in perspective. Emotions are an ugly thing, life seems to get very blurred in emotions. Im a very emotional guy, more emotional than most of my male friends, and through experiences, Ive learnt to control my emotions by holding bavk, and not jumping in the deep end right away.

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Shadowman

Four Fingers

lurkette, they had a thread about it in the philosophy forum and that's where this arguments really belongs. I can tell you that if I had to design a human being, I'd leave emotions out.

Anyway, this thread's about techniques for manipulating emotions. Have any?

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"Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest."

eci

I do the fizzy drink one, and the unhealthy food one, and I try to get the same habitual thing going for tidying up as you have with your cats (although as a naturally messy person this hasn't yet really worked).

As to emotions more generally, you're right that they're difficult to resist and impossible to avoid - especially when drunk, which is annoyingly frequent for me. I tend to feel a lot of regret in the morning.

I find my job boring (emotion), and try to combat that with the imagined pleasure of having money, or what I'm going to reward myself with after work.

I actually can't think of many concrete examples, but that must just mean I've got used to living a cold, dead life of automation

Kyo

- Practice your poker face. All the time. Not showing emotions on your face is a lot harder than not acting on emotions - if you can do this, emotions should never bother you again.

- Routinely abstain from things you enjoy, that don't necessarily have any negative impact on you. Watching TV, for instance, or having desert. Eventually, you should be able to quit any 'routine' activity cold turkey instantly. The reason for picking random activities is that you'll try to reason yourself into abstinence: "oh, ice cream will make me fat, so I can't eat it." Control is saying, "I'm going to stop eating ice cream for no reason" and being able to do it. (Obviously, I'm using ice cream as a trivial example - try it on something you actually care about doing, like golf or watching Comedy Central).

- Talk less, listen more. Applies to actions too. The more time you spend observing and the less time you spend acting on every thought that comes to mind, the less your emotions will control you. And you're less likely to make a fool out of yourself. Again.

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Sure I have a heart; it's floating in a jar in my closet, along with my tonsils, my appendix, and all of the other useless organs I ripped out.

bender

Emotions, can be turned off and or supressed .

Cynthetiq

i have done all of those and it has been a challenge to me all my life. I am a happy person but when I don't want someone to know something I have to figure out how to contain it without "spilling the beans"

as far as the "drop" something at a hat..... did that with drug use, drinking, and smoking.

Just because I can work through a situation, I have to remember that others cannot and may not be so able. Nothing rules me but me.

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