Taking the emotion out of [ … ]
I’ve been hearing this phrase a lot at work lately: “That’s great. It really takes the emotion out of it.” or “That way, you know, you take the emotion out.”
Usually it’s in context to something everyone and their mom is arguing <cough> I mean, “passionate” about… and therefore, emotional. Yelling and disagreement is usually assumed in these situations.
As the community manager for a website where my community is actually making their living through us, well, emotion is an every day kind of thing. I get why people want to avoid it, but I don’t really see what is wrong with trying to work within emotion as opposed to without. Ok, let me rephrase: I see what is wrong with blowing up and yelling at coworkers when something didn’t go the way you had hoped. I do, however, have a beef with the concept of removing emotion from a situation.
First, let’s define emotion. Wikipedia is usually a decent enough place to start:
In psychology, philosophy, and their many subsets, emotion is the generic term for subjective, conscious experience that is characterized primarily by psychophysiological expressions, biological reactions, and mental states. Emotion is often associated and considered reciprocally influential with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation,[citation needed] as well as influenced by hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin, oxytocin and cortisol. Emotion is often the driving force behind motivation, positive or negative.[1]
So if emotion is the driving force behind motivation, why would we want to lose that? Why not capitalize on it instead? Why not be aware of the emotion you’re expressing, and intentionally highlight the parts that will motivate someone in the way you want?
All decisions in life are motivated by emotion. Use it to your advantage, don’t always assume it’s the bad guy.
Ode to the Japanese maple
Since this is San Francisco and space is at a premium, I’m thinking in miniature. This bonsai Japanese maple would make a stunning focal point in a light-filled room.
The Art of Subtraction
Instead of staring at the blank page, why not start with a page full of words and eliminate the ones you don’t need?
This is the theory adopted by writer Austin Kleon in his book Newspaper Blackout – his weapons aren’t the pen and page, but Sharpie and New York Times. And his advice to start your own blackout poetry is easy:
Grab a newspaper.
Grab a marker.
Find an article.
Cross out words, leaving behind the ones you like.
Pretty soon you’ll have a poem.
The hardest part of creating anything is often getting over that first initial hurdle of the blank slate: writing the first sentence, painting the first line, pulling the thread of the first stitch. The stroke of genius in Kleon’s work goes against all that, and the results are kind of awesome. His most recent stuff involves creating horoscopes out of single newsprint pages.
The possibilities are endless, and best of all, no writer’s block – not to mention a new, interesting use for your recycling bin.
Happy scribbling!
Currently Coveting: This Dining Room
Via Design*Sponge – This portland home.
It’s probably the clean lines (clean… hmm… reminds me nothing of my own home…) and bright sunny window looking out over a backyard garden that is most attractive to me about this beautiful house. Seriously, how does one own a huge dining room like this and keep it so clean?
Gif-tastic
When my husband says I’m pretty and I’m all…
D’awwwwww.
When things go wrong at work
Sometimes you just have to be like:
Just a little bit of fun on a rainy Tuesday.
DIY Wedding Bouquet Verdict: Absurdly Easy
Wedding bouquets can cost upwards of $300 – I’m sorry, but I can order 100 pretty ranunculus online for that, and I’d rather roll around in a giant pile of ranunculus than cough up that kind of money for 1 measly – though beautiful, I’m sure – bouquet.
Since great artists steal, I stole the idea of using a big Xerographica air plant from this wedding. Then, I did a quick Googlin’ for the best place to order, which is here (they take a few weeks, and are non-responsive to their Contact Us email… I should send them my Customer Service post… I had a moment of panic the week before the wedding, but it all worked out).
I added a little bling from Michael’s, some tuberose (hubs’ favorite flower) and a bit of green hydrangea from Whole Foods, and absolutely loved the results.
Full cost: $34.50
Air plant: $22.00
Bling: $1.50 at Michael’s
Green hydrangea: $2.00/stem
Tuberose: $5.00/stem
Ribbon: $3.00/half yard
Floral wire: $1.00
Friday Moment of Zen
The grass is always greener…
In the middle of the ocean.
KAYLA BAXTER 