The Power of Emotions
By Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler
Pioneer Brain/Mind Researcher
© 2005 All rights reserved
www.quantumbraingym.com

Modern neuroscience has recently begun to research a previously little-understood aspect of human behavior -- emotion. We've learned a lot about the surprising connection between emotions and both mental and physical health.

We now know without a doubt that our emotions are intimately linked to our brain processes on all levels -- from higher-level thinking and memory ... to decision making and learning.

It's therefore very important to understand how our emotions work.

Emotional Funks and Subconscious Goals
Have you ever had a bad mood you couldn't explain, and wondered what put you in your emotional funk?
  
A researcher at Ohio State University has shed some valuable light on such negative "mystery moods."

Researcher Tanya Chartrand, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University , has provided evidence that such negative "mystery moods" have their root in goal failure.

But not the type of goal failure you would expect. In this case, its failure to live up to a "subconscious" goal -- a goal you were NOT aware of on a conscious level.

"If you succeed at a goal you didn't know you had, you're in a good mood and don't know why," Chartrand said. But if you fail at a subconscious goal, you're apparently likely to fall into a "mystery funk."

The Mystery of "Subconscious Goals"
Subconscious goals are old goals you have frequently and consistently chosen in a particular situation.

What occurs is that the neural networks committed to such "historic" choices become very robust due to repeated use. Eventually they become embedded in your subconscious mind.

They are then triggered automatically when you encounter a similar situation or environment, totally without any conscious thought or intent on your part.

How does this work?

Suppose that, as a young adolescent, you consciously created a goal to always try to appear "at your best" at parties. To impress your peers, you have chosen to carefully monitor your own behavior, speech and responses.
  
Then over time ... just being in a "party environment" is going to automatically trigger your old "party goal."
 
And chances are, that old goal is still active deep down in your subconscious mind today.

The result? If you today "blow it" at a party, you may fall into an unexplainable funk because you've failed at an important subconscious goal "to present your self well" at parties.

You didn't realize you went to the party with a goal -- but in fact, you did.

The Value of Your Subconscious Goals
Subconscious goals can have some powerful effects on how we feel and act -- and even on how well we achieve our important *conscious* goals

Many students have subconscious achievement goals that affect how they act and perform in school. The same is also true for both employees and entrepreneurs.

You likely have subconscious goals operating in many aspects of your life. Some of these subconscious goals serve us by  preserving our "cognitive resources." If we had to constantly think about what we want to accomplish in every situation, our brains could easily become overloaded.

But others are based on old expectations that are no longer appropriate -- and are best replaced by more appropriate conscious goals!

The "Self Esteem" Connection
What if your subconscious goals are throwing you into "emotional funks?"

A team of American and Canadian psychologists found that people with low self-esteem tend to be less motivated than people with high self-esteem to improve a negative mood.

Researcher Jonathon Brown, a Univ. of Washington psychologist, said a combination of resignation and sadness leads to less motivation among people with low self-esteem.

Those with low self-esteem reported that negative moods "sapped their energy." They also believed "sadness is not something you get rid of, and it's not appropriate to try to change a mood," Brown explained.

Those with high self-esteem were more likely to express the need to do something to change their mood.

Funks and "Mood Decay Rates"
Yet another study done at Kansas State University showed that some people can take longer to snap out of "funks" -- often leading to health problems.

Research by Scott Hemenover, assistant professor of psychology, showed that different personality types have different rates of "mood decay."

He found that introverts tend to hold on to a negative mood longer than other people. Extroverts, on the other hand, tend to maintain positive moods longer than the average person.

Maintaining a negative mood for a long period of time is harmful to your health. The key isn't how stressed, angry or sad you are, but how long you maintain that negative mood, Hemenover explained.

What's important is your "speed of mood decay." Many, researchers have established that chronic depression or chronic stress impair both your intelligence and immune system.

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