Our thirteenth keyword in our poll series on moods and emotions is EAGERNESS. For the purpose of this poll we will describe the meaning of EAGERNESS as "intense, impatient expectancy."
Eagerness, "as described for this poll" raises the bar of intensity on the emotions of anticipation and desire. Let's try to clarify this emotion of eagerness here. Eagerness occurs quite often in ones life. It's different from the emotion of "anticipation" for an event that happens once and is over - like getting a drivers license or getting married for the first time. It's also different from desire in the sense that desire is something you want but you must plan and strive for to get.
As an example - our friend John is a college football fan and is extremely eager to sit in front of the TV with his friends and watch his favorite team play football on Saturday. John makes sure all his errands are completed way ahead of time. He has set the stage for his friends with the proper food and drinks and can't wait for everyone to sit in their favorite spot to enjoy the game together. Every "i" is dotted and "t" crossed as the group eagerly awaits the kickoff. Don't bother this group during the three hours or so of this game! That's EAGERNESS!
The above example can be altered to fit the many interests we all have. When you want to do something you really enjoy, you will be EAGER enough to move mountains if you have to, in order to get what you want. The key to eagerness is that you are intense, impatient and waiting to "do what you really want to do!"
Just imagine if we could get this intense and eager about the things "that we really should do or have to do?" The challenge I guess is to somehow make what you should or have to do somewhat closer in proximity to what you really want to do! Is that possible? I contend it is, but only if you have enough good reasons to be eager about the action! If you can find pleasure in the actions you should or must take, instead of dwelling on the pain involved, you will be more eager to perform those actions.
I will try to give an example from my own personal experience. I am eager to walk my dog twice every day as I listen to educational tapes. Now that really sounds boring and probably sounds like a punishment for most people. However, over the past 10 years I have developed the thought process of finding pleasure in these actions. To begin with, I know that I make my dog extremely happy by this action. That makes me happy. I also know that it is very healthy for me to walk every day. Thus, feeling better about myself and my health also makes me happy. I am also happy that I have been able to gain a great deal of knowledge by listening to educational tapes daily. Lastly, through my actions each day, I am contributing toward achieving a "25 year goal" of walking around the world and listening to 6000 audio tapes. Now that's my icing on the cake. Thus, I have turned other people's perceived punishment into an eagerly awaited daily event. You see, our eagerness to do or achieve something can really be a powerful emotion if we find enough reasons and pleasure to be eager!
Let us know in this week's poll, your feelings on eagerness in your household. This poll will end on Sunday 04/25/04, when the results will be displayed.
33% of voters chose "Myself and/or my spouse are eager to dine at a favorite restaurant."
17% of voters chose "Myself and/or my spouse are eager to watch a favorite sporting event."
15% of voters chose "Myself and/or my spouse are eager to watch a favorite weekly TV show."
15% of voters chose "Myself and/or my spouse are eager to relax quietly and read."
11% of voters chose "My dog is always eager to go for a walk."
09% of voters chose "Myself and/or my spouse are eager to shop at our favorite store."
By the results of our poll, there wasn't one real standout that created the emotion of eagerness in our respondents. Our top vote at 33% was dining at a favorite restaurant. If you love to eat really tasty food, this pleasurable experience can certainly get the eagerness emotion stimulated. How many times have you bragged to others about a really great meal? Probably more times than you bragged about a really great book or magazine article. And definitely more times than the experience of walking your dog.
I like to think of the emotion of eagerness as a developed emotion that has evolved from your past pleasurable experiences. If this is true, then we somehow need to associate a feeling of pleasure regarding activities that are really good for us or important to our success and well being. If we could learn to ignite the power of eagerness, we will have developed a mighty force to help us do what is necessary to achieve our goals.
Delving into and learning about our emotions, makes us aware of the potential forces we all have to work with. Learn as much as possible - and put these forces to work today!