My Mom (Left) Working at Paul's Diner.
I Was Angry and Tired. It was a hot July day and I had been working 12 hour shifts, six days a week. I had been doing this for six months. Each day I had to cross a picket line to get to work and again 12 hours later to go home. I wasn't doing what I was hired to do, I was working as a replacement for those who were out on strike. On the way to work that morning, I had to listen to hostile comments and threats from those on the picket line. The end to the strike seemed nowhere in sight and my boss had told me earlier that, if I wanted to keep working there, I had to put up with an occasional strike in which we would all be required to fill in for those who went out.
I Called My Wife At Noon. We had both been talking about how we would like to live in Colorado and I had a job offer there. It was not in the profession I had worked in for 20 years but I didn't care any more. I told her I was ready to put the house on the market and take that job. She agreed and scheduled a real estate agent to meet us that evening. Before I left for work the next morning, our house was on the market and before I got home the next afternoon, it was under contract.
Fast Forward Fifteen Years. Later, we had built a successful business and were proud of what we had accomplished. In addition, I was in graduate school, with a major in communications and an emphasis on conflict resolution. The professor in one of my classes was a tall blond lady and she had just said, "Stress makes us stupid." I forgot the professor's name but that statement struck home and I can still hear those words today. I knew it was true as soon as she said it. Perhaps I had always known it was true but her words emphasized the importance. One thing I haven't mentioned was the trials and tribulations we went through in getting that business started. The anger and fear I felt when we left our old jobs was minuscule compared to what happened afterwords. The cost of that decision, made under duress, still effects me and our entire family today. Would I make the same decision again? Perhaps, but if someone had informed me ahead of time of the effects on myself and my family, I might not have had the courage to do it.
Fast Forward Another Fifteen Years. I no longer have a job but I still enjoy learning new things. My hobby is neuroscience and I have read a dozen or so books on the subject. One of the things I've learned is how our brain reacts to information from the senses. The first part of the brain to receive this information is called the thalamus. The thalamus is like a relay station that sends the information to the amygdala, which is not a thinking part of the brain, information is also sent to the appropriate center of the cortex which is capable of logic and reason. Since the path to the amygdala is shorter, the input arrives there first. If the input is threatening, the amygdala goes into action right away telling us to attack or get the hell out of there. By the time the cortex has a chance to react logically, the amygdala has already set in motion a chain of events to protect us from danger. This chain of events prevents the logical signals from the cortex to take effect. While this procedure can keep us from making logical decisions it also keeps us safe in circumstances where it is necessary to react immediately.
Would We Be Better Decision Makers Without Emotion? Surprisingly, the answer is no. Guess what happens when there is an injury to the emotional part of the brain? The injured person totally loses the ability to make decisions. This is somewhat of a paradox. Emotions often impair our ability to make logical decisions; however, without emotions, we couldn't make decisions at all.
A Real Neuroscientist Might Call This an Oversimplification. No doubt this is true but a more detailed explanation might be beyond the understanding of an untrained individual. I am a very emotional person and I often become embarrassed when these become visible, like when I get tears in my eyes when discussing something that saddens me or I hold my new grandson for the first time. I guess I would prefer that to being devoid of emotion and prevented from truly experiencing the joys and sadness of life.
