“People don’t want things, they want the emotions that come with them.” – Tony Robbins
Usually, when you buy a new car, it makes you feel good. Maybe it’s a landmark in your life. Maybe it tells you that you don’t have to worry or that people will look at your cool car and think you are cool too. Maybe it means your family will be secure and safe and have reliable transportation.
I went down to the Chevy dealer to buy a new car. I test drove one and it was great and all, but I didn’t buy it. When I drove my old car home, I realized that the old one was pretty good. (OK, it’s only four years old.) I determined that the new one would not make a lot of difference. Any emotional high I got out of it would be short-lived, so why bother?
I’m not making any argument about buying a new car or not. More, I am calling attention to recognizing WHY we do things. Are they important long term? Or do they just give us an emotional quick hit, and then we have to live with our decisions. Can we get that emotional satisfaction a different way? (i.e. maybe I have my old car fixed and detailed.) Or can I think about it some more and when considering the long-term effects of the decision that will come, make the emotional itch go away?
We’re human; we’re emotional. Emotions are how we experience life. But if we let our emotions make us impulsive, we’ll make some poor decisions.
Don’t you think?
You hit it spot on!Thanx for that, Larry
I like that you brought out “why” people do the things they do. I think it has to do with validation. Everyone wants to be validated. Most people look for this in other people, or cars as you have the example. It’s usually external and that doesn’t work, or at least not for very long. Emotions are awesome. The more you use them the stronger they get.
Larry I tell people all the time about the time we came to your company and you said you never buy new cars. Waste of money and you can find a used one for a lot less and in great shape. We did that recently and saved a lot of money and we feel just as good!
I believe that in life as a whole, emotion plays a big part in everything we do. We feel the need to be emotionally attached to our family, friends, spouses, jobs, and extra curricular activities. But if we go a little bit deeper, it is not just the emotion. The emotion is driven by desire and passion. These two things are what makes us think of goals, be a better team member and human being in general. If we do not have desire or passion for what we do, then we will not succeed at the goal we have set. Just my two cents. Make it a great day everyone!
Larry, great insight!
Needed to read that, as I am a highly emotional person.
Thanks Larry!