Your Emotional Levels
This week, we will discuss our emotional levels and how they impact goal setting, achieving our dreams, and living our best lives.
A benefit of writing these weekly posts is that I can occasionally go off on a tangent and discuss something new and exciting outside the course or book. This is because things like courses or books must, at some point, freeze the content and proceed to publishing. At that point, the content becomes static (not changing and possibly outdated) instead of dynamic (living and evolving, current and relevant). We all inherently know this to be true. Today, we are going to talk about a few examples of things that are static and dynamic.
Before we get into today's content, I want to explain why I am going off-topic. It’s pretty simple and for your benefit. Setting goals so you can achieve your dreams and live your best life is quite emotional, and how you think and act daily is a large part of your success in achieving your dreams. As such, I will spend the next three posts concentrating on our emotions, attitudes, and reactions to things that go wrong, that is, problems in our lives. Here is what we are going to cover in the next few weeks:
Today’s post title: Your emotional levels.
The second post: The Pollyanna Principle.
The third post: Embracing the suck.
Static and dynamic news
As you already know about me, I am a voracious reader. I always have newspapers, magazines, books, and online content close; throughout the day, I am consuming (that’s reading) news and other content that interests me. My daily routine usually begins at 4:30 or 5:00 for an hour or more with Bible reading and study, prayer, and a book. I don’t read many novels, although I do like them. Still, I usually read books about subjects I include in the course, such as finance, professional development, goal attainment, and learning about issues that support these interests. The inherent problem with printed material is that it is out of date as soon as it is printed. If you read newspapers, like I enjoy doing, you know that events occurring after the press deadline are not mentioned. Typically, these things include sports scores or late-night events. Printed material is static and always just a bit out of date. That does not mean the content is not valuable; it is just that some of the material is not current. And if you are not a newshound like I am, it’s okay. It’s the way it is, and we all accept that.
The advantage of printed material is that it typically has a strict review process that ensures accuracy, correct spelling, and grammar and is formatted in a way that is pleasing to the eye. Oh, and there are no pop-ups. Who enjoys those anyway? Online content, while dynamic and to the minute current, may or may not be subject to the same review process. Typically, online content contains pop-ups designed to distract us from the content. Yes, lots and lots of pop-ups. This is why I read news from nine different sources daily, in all formats and of other biases, from multiple countries to get a well-rounded picture of what is happening worldwide.
Other examples of “things that are out of date” include computer software and hardware, automobiles, and airplanes. Because I made my career in the aerospace business, this is of particular interest to me. I received a memento in 2016 when I was working at Spirit AeroSystems. In recognition of those involved in new programs, there were (and probably still are, it’s cool) tokens handed out of what was called “first chips.” These were typically the scrap chips of aluminum that resulted from the first machining processes of a new aircraft type or other significant program. In this case, the first chip token was for the 777X aircraft. Four years later, in January 2020, the 777X took its first flight. The first aircraft was due to be delivered later in 2020. As of this writing, the current delivery has again been slipped past 2026. So, if all of this holds true, not including the initial planning time that started significantly before the first chips, from beginning manufacturing to first delivery, it will be more than 12 years. So, much of the technology of a new airplane such as this could be as much as a decade or more old (Note 1).
One more example of static and dynamic content, and I will move on. All of us can relate to what I’m about to say, but depending on your age, you may or may not remember it. Sadly, the US has been involved in wars and other military events that put our people at risk continuously since about 1990. Because of the technology involved, we have almost instant access to these events as they happen. When I was growing up, the US was involved in the Vietnam War, which was essentially from 1955 to 1975. For many of those years, Walter Cronkite was always on TV. In the evening, for many families, even during dinner, if they had the TV on, we heard about the war. Not in real-time, but delayed by several hours. During WWII, there was an even more significant delay in getting news out, often coming out in the newspapers and newsreels (What’s a newsreel, anyway? See Note 2). Yes, radio was around during these years, but the lack of modern communication aids such as satellite communication and mobile phones meant that even radio programs were somewhat delayed. Today, events are reported in real time. Wow!
Some things never change
OK, that was quite the rabbit trail; let me bring us back to the point I want to make, in a roundabout way, of course…You probably know that some things never change. When I was a child, I thought my parents did not know very much because things were different when they were growing up. It was the same with my children. “Dad, things were different then,” I was told. Yes, some things were different, but people are people. Needs, wants, and emotions will probably never change, as that is how humans are made. As I’ve traveled to many places in the world, I believe that people are people. Most of them are kind and friendly and want to live in a way that makes them happy without excessive government interference or war with others. Yes, I genuinely do not only believe this but have experienced it by visiting with other people from other countries. Even people from countries ruled by dictators or other unsavory characters, I believe all people want the same things because, even though we may look different, inside, we are all the same. I’ve proven this theory myself with people from countries that are free and not so free. All humans inherently want the same thing. Of course, there are exceptions. I would be lying if I told you otherwise, but I think this is a true statement overall.
Medical advancements have been phenomenal over the years, and our knowledge of the human body and mind has grown exponentially. Now, finally! I am at the point. There are some things we humans learned a long time ago that are still true today and will always be true. This is why I recommend books written in the 1930s or even, in a few cases, written in the 1800s. Humans learned these lessons long ago, and they have not changed and will not change.
Our emotional health
I am reading a very old book, first published in 1954. The book is called How to Live 365 Days a Year by John A. Schindler, MD (Note 3). This book is considered one of the greatest self-help books of all time and is still being published. I have inserted this post directly after our previous discussion of Maslow’s Theory of Human Needs. The reason for that is I am just now reading this book, and the timing is perfect for me to insert this information so you can learn from it just like I did. In the book, Dr. Schindler introduces us to emotional health. He states that many of our physical illnesses are not physical but a result of less-than-optimal emotional health. Reading this book is one of those “Aha!” moments for me, and I can see myself and some of my own issues as I read his book.
In chapter 6 of the book, Dr. Schindler introduces us to the fact that each of us, all those humans worldwide I just spoke about, have, at all times, two emotional levels. He describes these as follows:
Fundamental emotion: Those deep, underlying internal emotions that lie just below our surface and may not be seen or known by others. They operate in the background. He notes that the psychiatric term for this is effect (affect), described as a patient’s immediate expression of emotion or mood.
Fundamental emotions have more to do with bringing on functional disease because many of these emotions are unhappy and can last a lifetime. Unhappy fundamental emotions can be brought on by a particular event that happened to the individual, often in childhood. Another cause of fundamental emotional unhappiness can be unfilled basic needs, which Dr. Schindler describes as the six basic psychological needs of love, security, recognition, creative expression, new experiences, and self-esteem. Unfavorable fundamental emotions can also be brought on by immaturity and the problems that result from it.
Cheerful fundamental emotions exist in fortunate individuals who possess habitually cheerful fundamental emotions. These people are known to have a pleasant disposition. These people are happy to be happy; nothing in the world is worth more to them. Dr. Schindler advises us that one of the primary roles of a parent is to instill a cheerful disposition into our children. Finally, he notes that if we were not fortunate enough to have grown up this way, we could change and cultivate a fundamentally cheerful attitude.
Superficial emotion: These are times when your mind is necessarily on other subjects, such as work, and your fundamental emotions are relegated to the background. He states that we may seemingly be cheerful or pleasant during these times, even though our fundamental emotions continue to run. Think about the emotion we show when someone does something nice for us. We smile, and we are happy, for at least a little bit.
As I read this book, particularly this chapter, I first thought that this valuable information needs to be shared with my readers. Indeed, more than 1 million people have purchased the book for as little as $1.25 in past times. The book has been translated into 13 different languages. Thus, I am sharing this information with you now, giving all credit to Dr. Schindler, my teacher, my sensi (Note 4), for today.
The second thing that comes to mind as I read this book is how it explains so much. Do you know someone who is a hypochondriac, someone who always seems to be sick or anxious about their health? Does it help explain how people end up later in life who have grown up exposed to difficult situations, perhaps neglect or even, it pains me to say, abuse? How about those who suffered a catastrophic event? Interestingly, I see myself in some of this. Yes, I do. Not that I have suffered any of these difficulties, but I can see myself and realize that I still have some work to do if I am honest.
Finally, the most important takeaway for me, and I hope for you, as part of this post, is that any of us can change such that we can truly have a happy fundamental emotion. You probably know these wonderful people who experience this, don’t you? I know some of them; they are a pleasure to be around.
Happy, unhappy, healthy, unhealthy
In summary, this knowledge fits perfectly with our previous discussion of Maslow’s human needs theory. It is instructional and explains why some of us are happy, some of us are unhappy, and, perhaps, assuming Dr. Schindler is correct—and I think he is—why some of us are healthy, and some of us are unhealthy. More importantly, it encourages us to know that we can change! So we can achieve our dreams and live our best lives!
This is why I say I developed this course not to make you rich but to make you wealthy. Being happy and healthy is true wealth! Dr. Schindler does a great job of explaining this in his book. We’ve all heard the saying, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” (Note 5). Indeed!
What’s in it for Me
If you are fundamentally happy, you are truly blessed! All of us, every single human in the world, deserve to be happy! If you are an American, you can take confidence knowing that our Declaration of Independence provides us with three unalienable rights, rights we believe were given to all humans by our Creator. These rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Call to Action
Consider your state of happiness. If you are unhappy, some self-examination, followed by concrete action, can help turn that around. Assess that today. Consider whether you need professional help to determine that or for treatment. Because if we are not happy and healthy, then nothing else matters.
Recommended Resources
Buy and read the book How to Live 365 Days a Year by John A. Schindler, MD (Note 3).
Up Next
Pollyanna and Chicken Little.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Boeing 777X: https://www.boeing.com/commercial/777x#overview
What is a newsreel? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsreel
How to Live 365 Days a Year by John A. Schindler, MD: https://amzn.to/3YdoFEB