Getting To Good: Your Spontaneous Woo Quotient

Written by Maya Talisman Frost


As I was driving to a friend's house, I passedrepparttar Dublin Pub, a local watering hole known for its live music. Onrepparttar 130397 reader board, one band's name caught my eye: Spontaneous Woo.

I did a little digging and learned thatrepparttar 130398 band hails from Bay City, Michigan and offers a funk/jazz blend. The term "spontaneous woo" refers to an audience response often seen during concerts in which a rising tide of enthusiasm culminates in a distinctive eruption of happy exclamations.

Now, there’s a universal human experience. There is nothing quite like letting out a joyous, spontaneous "Woo!" when things are going our way. We might personalize our woo, making it come out as "Yesss!" or "Sweeeeeet" or even "Woo-HOO!"

There’s an appropriate word for this in every language. No matter what elicits this response, we know it means something good has happened. We recognize these woos, whether inspired by simple pleasures or major milestones, as a celebration of goodness. What makes us woo tells us a whole lot about what we value, and what we value is all that is "good".

What is "good"? How do we define it?

The British poet, W.H. Auden, said: "Goodness is easier to recognize than to define." Isn't thatrepparttar 130399 truth!

We know "good" when we see it, just like we know when something is woo-worthy. Putting this into words in a consistent way is tough. This is where your personal philosophy comes in. Realize that your ideas of what makes a life "good" come fromrepparttar 130400 people you know,repparttar 130401 books you've read,repparttar 130402 movies you've seen, and a host of influences you can't remember right now.

We use "good" to describe everything from a haircut to a mathematical theory. Essentially, something is "good" if it satisfies a certain expectation we have of it--it hitsrepparttar 130403 target. A "good" cup of coffee could be strong, weak, bitter, sweet, milky, steaming hot, black, organic, shade-grown, or free, depending on what you value.

"Good" may be a moving target, but Aristotle happened to likerepparttar 130404 whole idea of targets. He usedrepparttar 130405 Greek word "telos" which wasrepparttar 130406 term used to describe an archery bulls-eye. It's a simple mental image--a big circle with a dot inrepparttar 130407 middle.

Teleology refers torepparttar 130408 study ofrepparttar 130409 purpose of things. Aristotle believed that everything in nature has a purpose, or target. A thing is good if it serves its purpose, fulfills its mission, or hits its target. The whole world is made up of these interrelated purposes.

According to Aristotle, our purpose is to think in order to live a good life. We're supposed to use our brains to contemplate, to appreciaterepparttar 130410 complexity ofrepparttar 130411 universe, to attain greater understanding of our role as humans, and to be happy. By fulfilling our role as thinkers, we are living to purpose-we are living a good life.

What does that mean exactly? What do we use as guidelines or markers to help us determine if we are getting close to good?

If, as Aristotle says, our purpose is to live a good life and be happy, why isn't there some simple formula we can apply to everyone? What'srepparttar 130412 minimum woo-quotient of a good life? Can we be happy if we're not living a good life? Can we live a good life if we're not happy?

How much do we need to be happy? We all know plenty of people who never seem to be happy no matter how much they have. One of our greatest challenges as humans is figuring out how much is enough.

Aristotle believed that we need to use courage, honesty and moderation in pursuing pleasure. He considered moral goodness and enjoyment in life asrepparttar 130413 same thing. He believed it was okay to pursue anything you want, as long as you don't go overboard. This concept of moderation became known asrepparttar 130414 "golden mean".

Emotional Intelligence Brings Results

Written by Susan Dunn, MA, Personal & Professional Development Coach


You’ve probably been hearing a lot about Emotional Intelligence and wondering what it is. In this article we’ll talk about what Emotional Intelligence is, what it can do for you, and why it’srepparttar best solution for your challenges.

DEFINITION

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is about your ability to understand and manage your own feelings and those of others, and to use this information to guide you to relate better, plan more flexibly, make better decisions, think more creatively, prioritize, motivate yourself and others, and enjoy better health.

Daniel Goleman, author of “Emotional Intelligence,” defined it as “the wider range of qualities which enable people to excel – self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, empathy, etc.”

WHAT CAN IT DO FOR YOU?

Emotional Intelligence is based on a number of competencies you can learn. Four of them are CREATIVITY, INTENTIONALITY, RESILIENCE and AUTHENTICITY. Depending upon which system you study, there are around a dozen of these competencies.

WHY IT’S THE BEST SOLUTION: Occam’s Razor

The Principle of Parsimony originated with mediaeval philosophy. It means you shouldn’t make more assumptions thanrepparttar 130394 minimum needed.

The Principle of Parsimony became known as Occam’s Razor because William of Occam (or Ockham), an influential 14th century British philosopher and theologian used it so often. Here is his photo: http://wotug.kent.ac.uk/parallel/www/occam/occam.gif .

"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate,” he wrote, or "plurality should not be posited without necessity,” which could be rephrased as “keep it simple.” It means we should userepparttar 130395 razor to keep shaving things off of theories and explanations until we get torepparttar 130396 essence. Chooserepparttar 130397 simplest explanation that coversrepparttar 130398 data;repparttar 130399 one that requiresrepparttar 130400 fewest leaps of logic. THE CHALLENGE

Now, say you don’t get along atrepparttar 130401 office. You’re stuck working with someone you can’t stand. They’re always backbiting you and this has happened before. You’re not inrepparttar 130402 loop. You aren’t included and you know it’s holding you back professionally. In a word you might say, “I don’t get along at work.”

Should you decide to consult a therapist, [s]he would begin looking for causes and generating hypotheses and they would be multiple (or plural). Hypotheses are reasons why something is happening. The therapist might want to know about your childhood and your physical health. Maybe your father beat you, or you’re in chronic pain from a back injury. Do you have an authority conflict? Where were you inrepparttar 130403 birth order? Are you in a co-dependent relationship? Are you hostile? Passive-aggressive? Do you have bad breath or body odor? Do you hate men?

It’s possible to find an individual for whom all those “causes” would be true and if you’re thinking in that vein, most people would have multiple causes. If you are in chronic pain and were abused as a child, both could explain your not being able to get along with people, and neither one could be eliminated.

OCCAM’S RAZOR

Now let’s apply Occam’s Razor. What’srepparttar 130404 most parsimonious explanation for why you don’t get along? BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO.

·Why aren’t you CREATIVE? Because you don’t know how to be. ·Why aren’t you INTENTIONAL? Because you don’t know how to be. ·Why aren’t you RESILIENT? Because you don’t know how to be. ·Why aren’t you AUTHENTIC? Because you don’t know how to be.

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