Are we becoming more emotionally freer?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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I was watching a baseball game on TV. A player hit his first home run as a Major League player. As he was rounding the bases, he made a "heart" with his fingers to the guys in his dugout. Then his buddies gave him big ol' bear hugs. I thought I just couldn't picture Mickey Mantle, or his teammates doing that-maybe slaps to the back, or butts, but definitely no bear hugs. Maybe, it's that men found out showing affection doesn't make you gay, or what, but player and his teammates didn't worry about showing affection. Are we becoming more emotionally freer?
 

Yes I think both men and women feel a lot more comfortable openly sharing their feelings and definitely more accepting of others. At one point in time, most guys wanted to be more Jock like or more athletic cause they thought more girls would like them.

Now people realize how pretentious all that was. Not all guys want to be jocks and not all girls want to be Barbie Dolls. There’s a LOT in between which we acknowledge now. At least that’s how I feel.
 
Although it's not traditionally macho or a guy thing, everyone would benefit from reading a good book, or books on emotions. They are the almost invisible force that drives essentially everything we do in life. Advertisers learned that early on, and the majority of things they pitch to you are appealing to your emotions.
Picture riding on the back of an elephant where emotions are the elephant. You may have some control, but often times the elephant will take you where it desires. They are the ruler of the subconscious, and so much of your life is determined at that level, despite what we think we control at the conscious level.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is learning how to recognize, understand, and manage emotions both within yourself and in others (Love, anger, jealousy, envy, hatred, lust, etc...). Generally if a person develops a higher EI, they fare so much better in relationships, personal growth, communication, challenges, and even in financial matters.
Women are overall so much better at it than men, but progress is being made, however I will say that there is a big difference between freely expressing them and understanding them.
 

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I'm not sure.

I was noting just today that I think I have changed with time personally. There are things in life, movies, even music that produce tears that would never have been evoked when I was much younger.

I'm beginning to suspect that with age a lot of things I'd blocked out have become accessible memories. Those might be increasing my level of empathy and reaction.
 
bobcat said:
Although it's not traditionally macho or a guy thing, everyone would benefit from reading a good book, or books on emotions. They are the almost invisible force that drives essentially everything we do in life. Advertisers learned that early on, and the majority of things they pitch to you are appealing to your emotions.
Picture riding on the back of an elephant where emotions are the elephant. You may have some control, but often times the elephant will take you where it desires. They are the ruler of the subconscious, and so much of your life is determined at that level, despite what we think we control at the conscious level.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is learning how to recognize, understand, and manage emotions both within yourself and in others (Love, anger, jealousy, envy, hatred, lust, etc...). Generally if a person develops a higher EI, they fare so much better in relationships, personal growth, communication, challenges, and even in financial matters.
Women are overall so much better at it than men, but progress is being made, however I will say that there is a big difference between freely expressing them and understanding them.
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This is a great post bobcat.
Do you have any suggested reading about emotional intelligence? I’m very interested.
 
Thanks. I guess it depends on how deep you want to get into it. For a deep dive, I would suggest "How Emotions Are Made" by Lisa Barrett. However, for a lighter read, but still very good, I would suggest "This Book Has Feelings" by Neil Scott.

A great companion book I would highly recommend is "Strangers To Ourselves", by Timothy Wilson. It deals with the whole subconscious, which is where our emotions reside, and it provides a thorough understanding of how they come into play in behaviors. About 90% of what goes on in the mind can be traced to the subconscious, and it's very enlightening to venture into that realm. I don't think you will be disappointed.
 


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