Our behaviour is driven more by emotions than by logic. What we do is based more on what we feel like doing rather than what we think we should do.



Logically, we know that we should take action and follow through on our goals but emotionally, we may be held back by feelings of lethargy or even fear.

For example; logically, you know you should not smoke because it is a waste of money and could kill you and loved ones who inhale your secondary smoke. Emotionally, you still continue because of the emotions of relaxation or sense of control it gives you.

More specifically, there are two kinds of emotions that drive us constantly. They are positive emotions and negative emotions.

Whatever you are driven to do, you do because you want to move towards positive emotions like happiness, security, power, success and freedom. At the same time, you are moving away from negative emotions like fear, depression, physical pain, loss or insecurity.

Why we behave like amoebas!

Amoebas are single celled organisms. When you put food in front of an amoeba, it starts moving towards it. When you place a hot object next to it, it moves away from the heat source.

If you were to put food on one side and heat on the other, it would drive the organism to move even faster in the direction of the food and away from the heat.

This may seem rather obvious but what we must realize is that we behave exactly the same way an amoeba behaves. We have to be aware off the 'food' and 'heat' that drives us constantly.

Think about all decisions people make constantly. Are they logically or emotionally driven? Why do people get married?

People may get married because they think marriage would move them towards positive emotions of lasting love and happiness, companionship and comfort.

There are also couples who decide to marry because they think it will move them away from negative emotions of loneliness, depression, and insecurity.

Yet why are there people who swear never to get married? It's because they have attached very different emotions to the idea of what getting married means. They stay single because they think it will bring them loss of freedom and happiness.

These people avoid marriage because they may have seen unhappy marriages (perhaps their own parents' unhappy union), and they believe that by remaining single they are moving away from loss of freedom, boredom and from ugly quarrels and unhappiness.

Do all of us want the same kinds of positive emotions? Do we also want to avoid the same painful emotions? Yes! All of us desire recognition, success, happiness, comfort, security and freedom.

At the same time, all of us will do what we can to avoid embarrassment, rejection, boredom, physical pain and poverty. However, in our minds, we place very different levels of importance on these common emotions.

Only by being aware of the values that drive us will we begin to understand why we make certain decision in the past or present.

Only then will you begin to realize why you are experiencing the life you are living out presently. This will enable you to find out the reasons behind you achieving or lagging behind in your pursuits.