One internet meme from the dawn of memes stuck with me to this day.
A man is standing on the roof of the skyscraper. He is hovering over the edge, looking sad. He is clearly contemplating jumping off but hasn’t yet made up his mind. As he lifts his head, trying to decide what to do, he sees the Nike slogan – JUST DO IT!
When it comes to making the best decisions in life – it’s all about the context.
One situation might need a retreat, another a fight.
A joke can save the day or undermine your standing.
Honesty can be the best answer or it can be used against you.
Life was like a bicycle since a man could keep his balance only if he kept moving.’ – Albert Einstein*
Emotions – yours’ and others’ – is one of the most immediate data you can get about the situation, and yet it is usually neglected.
To succeed in a complex society in constant flux we need to be fully attuned to its context.
In fact, emotional information is often proactively denied. Your boss might have just witnessed you being bullied and insulted, but still expect you to hold back your tears or temper your anger. Your emotional safety might have been undermined, but why should he care about such a nuisance like emotions?
While you don’t always have the power to change the situation, emotional information can be useful for your decision (changing teams to where psychological safety is importsnt being only one of them).
The start of any journey is usually awareness – take a look at the infographic – are your emotions might be telling you something useful?
