Woke Up in a Funk
Do you ever wake up in a funk? I did this morning. I don't know if it was interrupted sleep, lower back pain, a case of the Mondays, or what, but I was in a low state. I've gotten away from the practice of labeling emotions positive or negative. Especially in the case of emotions that are uncomfortable or uneasy, I don't think it's helpful to add another layer of judgment on top of them. A few years ago I had an insight about the relationship between emotion and the human will. Distinct from willpower, the propensity to override our habitual tendencies and take "massive action", the human will is more like an energy management system. It monitors our energy levels and gives us data to make decisions about what we can commit to doing. Emotions are the language of will. When we have emotional states we consider low, it's because they reflect a lower level of energy. Anger is like the light that goes off when you're about to run out of gas. "Urgent m...