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Emotions are tricky

Being aware of your emotions can be a very challenging thing.

Emotions are like a pot of water. When you start getting hot, you might feel it but it doesn’t quite register. Eventually, it gets hotter and hotter and hotter until the water starts boiling and bubbling. But when you’re in that pre-boil state, a lot of things can happen that wouldn’t otherwise happen. It’s important to try to become more aware of when things get to the point of hot but not yet boiling.

None of the posts today will help you with that. That’s about getting more in tune with yourself, perhaps some meditation.

But the posts today will (try to) help you understand how your behavior might change as a result of how you feel inside:

To Curb Emotional Spending, You Need to Understand It [Brave Saver] – “It was Christmas Day. I’d spent the afternoon napping, nursing a cold, and had emerged to find our front room as I’d left it: with wrapping paper, gifts and candy scattered about. I looked around at the mess and feeling decidedly sullen. What was the point, some voice in my head said. I’d spent hours and hundreds of dollars trying to make this day special. And it probably had been. But from my point of view, I’d spent it in bed, too tired and grumpy to even enjoy anything under the tree.”

There’s quite a bit about managing money that has to do with your emotions and your awareness of your emotions. It’s easy to fall into traps of any kind, money or otherwise, when you aren’t paying attention.

Societal Pressure & Personal Finance [Simple Money Man] – “Recently I was at a conference in the city and between sessions, I decided to go for a walk outside. The conference was in a very trendy hotel in a nice part of the city. Parked outside of the hotel were very nice cars and SUVs. They were luxury vehicles and appeared clean and sleek. Instantly I thought to myself, it would feel so good driving one of these. And a moment later, I thought there is no way I’m selling my current vehicle to add onto my loan balance and acquiring one of these.

But then another thought entered my mind. I do need to get my tires replaced anyway. What if I get my tires replaced and as part of that process replaces my factory wheels with a new set of nice aftermarket rims. So while half-listening to the next training session, I started googling deals on tire and rim packages. Less than 10 minutes into my search, I thought to myself that, the only people that will enjoy its appearance are others, not me. I will be INSIDE the car so I’ll really only appreciate it when I enter and exit the car. And so my brain could not rationalize spending half a grand on rims. Furthermore, it is a cosmetic expense on top of a rapidly depreciating asset.”

It’s really really hard to go down a path like this and reel yourself back in. It’s even harder to do it twice!

Finally, I really like this story about the Golden Rule:

The Power of Being Nice [Trip of a Lifestyle] – “Sometimes being nice brings unexpected results. Not only does kindness make the other person feel better, but it can also lead to camaraderie and friendship. […] Niceness can pay off in more ways than one. It can brighten the day of a fellow human, and it may just benefit you (and I’m not just talking about karma).”

Niceness has unlimited upside.

Lastly, I want to leave you with this fun gem:

How the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service Come Up With Their Code Names [MEL Magazine] – “Rawhide, Tumbler, Mogul, Lancer… Smurfette? What’s the secret behind the coolest (and weirdest) White House code names?”

If you could come up with a short codename, what would it be?