Goal with this post: react to article.
I like the idea of treating emotions rationally and trying to have an internal dialog. I like the idea of looking for win/win solutions between emotions and other ideas.
A couple things that seem really hard with improving emotions is figuring out what the more suble emotions are after. For example, it seems like it can be hard to see what an emotion is going for with low intensity persistent feelings (throughout a day). Maybe something like a feeling of general angst and uncertainty can be more difficult to analyze than directed anger/sadness/frustration. Trying to introspect where an emotion came from or what it wants can be really hard and sometimes there are many possibilities that are hard to choose from.
Another difficult thing about having an internal dialog with emotions is that many emotions are fleeting or they morph while you are thinking about them. Then it becomes even harder to guess what they wanted in the first place. Should you debate the emotion in its original form or what its morphed into? Sometimes the emotion fades so much that it seems like you’re just guessing at different priorities you might have and how they conflict and what can be done about that problem.
It seems like changing actions is one way that emotions can improve. Trying a different thing can lead to better emotions. Sometimes brainstorming and writing down ideas about what to do to improve an emotion doesn’t work as well as taking actions as part of the brainstorm. I mean sometimes an idea will look unappealling on paper but then once you get going on, it starts to be fun.
Another thing this article made me think about is the difference between reactive emotions and proactive emotions. I think for me, and maybe most people, most strong emotions seem like they are a result of reacting to something. By proactive emotions, I mean something like having and internal drive to succeed and things that you really want with a passion. Curiosity and interest are proactive feelings that seem like they can persist a bit more than passion. Maybe both types of emotions (proactive/reactive) are just fleeting and the reactive ones stand out more. I wonder reactivity is a bigger part of traditional knowledge with regard to emotions that proactivity, possibly because reacting is more socially related.
I fail at non-judgemental introspection. I fail because whenever I try to introspect it immediately leads to judgemental thoughts. I give up at this point because the judgemental thoughts that I have seem pretty final and conclusive. An example will be: let’s say I ask myself and try to introspect why do I feel mildly good scrolling through YouTube and watching whatever the algorithm recommends? Answer would be because I’m passive and passively consuming mildly positive content makes me feel good enough about myself. These two seems like pretty final comments on myself. If someone were to say this to me it would be a conversation ender. I wouldn’t know how to make progress from there.