Follow your heart, but take your brain with you

It's kind of ironic that last week I wrote a post about being a Thinker and a Feeler because of what happened to me this week...

I went to a negotiations course at work about managing emotions while you negotiate. Now, the #1 question that comes to everyone's mind is, "so do you have a great poker face now?" Not really! Because having a poker face means you are hiding your true emotions- not necessarily managing them, and this course was all about managing them! You don't have to fake a facial expression to hide your real feelings.

The instructor was discussing feelings vs. thinking and all that because this class was about emotions. We even took a test where we would try to label people's pictures and say if they were ________. Fill in the blank with an emotion. One thing she said struck me because I was complaining about  indecisive people. I am not indecisive about very many things. If you wait too long to decide something you'll miss out on something even greater, so just move forward. And no, I am not talking about making completely irrational decisions SOLELY based on emotions. That is just silly; you do have to use some logic. Anyway she said that indecisive people are not committing any real feelings towards any of the available options. Telling these people to be more logical and weigh their options are some instructions that mean nothing and will also not help them make a decision.


I just watched this week's episodes of Big Brother that I missed. Yes, that is one of my reality game shows that I am addicted to. This addiction is a long and drawn-out one that I try to avoid, so I won't linger on that subject any longer. Boom. One of the players, Ragan, just said "I need to take my feelings out of the game and decide who to vote for." I wanted to scream at him. "NOOOOOOO YOU DONNNNNN'T! You need to put your feelings inside of the game in order to really decide who you want to vote for."

Basically, in order to make a decision you must put your feelings in front of you and decide what is the best for your happiness/ what you like the most/ what means the most to you. NOT what makes the most sense/ what is the most hassle-free decision/ what causes the least pushback. While this is kind of a circular thought, it does make sense! Of course it also makes me feel okay to be girly when it comes to making decisions. There is not always an obvious answer, but for us girls we attach our emotions to things more quickly than guys do. And sometimes that can be overwhelming for people to hear, especially when it seems that we have so many demands. But guys really just need to learn to attach their emotions to decisions instead of weighing the logic of it all sooo much more.

What do you think? Are you more emotional than logical? Or more logical than emotional? I know i prefer to use both and in as equal a manner as I can.

haha. TeeHee. BAAAAHAHAHAHA!

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE to laugh. Before Facebook got all weird laughing was listed in one of my interests...you know right there along with Jesus, singing, smiling, cleaning, chewing gum, playing volleyball, and roasted salsa from HEB. That proves how much I love to laugh! Laughter comes in many forms of emotions: loud, proud, cynical, sarcastic, embarrassed, paining, pitiful, and even silent. There are MANY more ways to describe our feelings as we suddenly burst into noise or convulse with joy.

I have really never heard so many comments about my laugh as I have recently. On a recent trip to Australia for work, one of my co-workers who lives there said something interesting during our goodbyes...

"LeeAnn, I'm going to miss your laugh! It's okay if you call me at work and leave a voicemail of just your laugh! It makes me so happy!"

My initial reaction was that I was creeped out by this person I had only known for 3 weeks, yet spent every day with. And now, what do I choose to do? Yep, that's right. I just laugh!

Since this instance multiple people at work have said they enjoy hearing my laugh from around the corner because they know I'm enjoying myself. My closest friends have said they enjoy a little chuckle just because I'm giggling along. And strangers have said they were curious to know what was so fun because I was so joyfully cracking up. This is all just so fun to me! I know that sometimes my laugh can be more of a cackle, so I realize that there are those who feel laughing is annoying, obnoxious, and inconsiderately disturbing. My hope is that these folks will recognize the true innocent pleasure and joy involved in a good hefty chuckle. And enjoy one themselves! To those that keep me laughing, I thank you for allowing me to share in your joy.

"I love smiling! Smiling's my favorite!" -Elf

"A laugh is a smile that bursts." -Mary H. Waldrip

"With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die." -Abraham Lincoln

"A hearty laugh is one good dry cleaning, while a good cry is a wet wash." -Puzant Kevork Thomajan

"Perhaps I know why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter." -Friedrich Nietzschke

"Laugh as much as you can breathe, and love as long as you can live." -Anon

"The human race has one really effective weapon. And that is laughter." -Mark Twain

Listamania 1.0: I Think. Therefore I Feel.

I was reminded today of my Myers-Briggs test results. First, I am a THINKER. Second, I am a FEELER. Why I was just reminded today, I am not sure of! because I have the word "Thinker' written rather largely on my whiteboard in my office, and I see it every time I walk in and out or stand up or turn around! Another friend of mine (Leslie) has been creating Listamania fun on her blog...so for my first one I will do the Top 10 traits of a Thinker-Feeler, then the Top 10 best ways to deal with folks like us.

Traits
1. analytical
2. perceptive
3. disciplined
4. people-aware
5. consistent
6. patient
7. observant
8. teamwork-oriented
9. reliable
10. good listener

Tips for our friends
1. Use bulleted lists in a logical manner to explain things to us.
2. Be focused on people.
3. Tell us when we are being dramatic; it happens when we get overly involved.
4. Keep things short and sweet.
5. When we talk, please listen to our thought-out ideas and opinions with patience.
6. Try not to take advantage of our attention to detail.
7. Sometimes it's okay to just go with our flow, not just the flow ;)
8. It's okay to tell us to quit thinking and start doing something instead.
9. Reach out to us because we FEEL, LISTEN, and WANT you to RELY on us!
10. Trust in our loyalty to you as a friend!

According to some other test that I can't remember the name of I am also Conventional, Social, and Realistic. I think these are pretty accurate depictions of me.

What do you think about these traits and tips? I hope that provide us all with a little more useful insight into the inner-workings of others!

To be Better or Different? That is the question.

Last week in a training class I heard the strangest quote. It has completely puzzled me ever since.

"Don't do anything different. JUST DO EVERYTHING BETTER."

I am completely perplexed. From the surface, I understand this. In order to accomplish something, I don't have to do anything different from other people- I just have to learn to do those same things better. Seems simple, riiight? Not necessarily.

Not if I want to be different, at least. What if I want others to notice a difference in me? Just doing "different" things won't be enough. I need to do a little extra to be extra-ordinary.

This quote is still perplexing me. I see both sides! If there are verses that support one way or the other, I cannot think of them. So if you know some, please alert the masses!