Why you feel what you feel | Alan Watkins | TEDxOxford

TEDx Talks
18 Dec 201520:18
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRIn a profound TED Talk, the speaker shares insights from his vast experience as a physician, immunologist, neuroscientist, and consultant to CEOs and elite athletes. He explores the human journey of self-awareness, from infancy to adulthood, and the societal rules that often confine us. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding and managing our emotions, which he describes as 'energy in motion.' He introduces an app designed to help individuals navigate the vast spectrum of human emotions, encouraging personal growth and mastery over one's emotional state. By recognizing that emotions are internal and not dictated by external factors, individuals can take ownership of their feelings, leading to improved well-being, decision-making, and life fulfillment. The talk concludes with a call to action to become aware of one's emotional 'planet' and to strive for emotional control, envisioning a world where people are not limited by their feelings but can choose their emotional state.

Takeaways
  • 🧠 **Emotional Awareness**: Recognizing and understanding your emotions is crucial for personal growth and well-being.
  • 👶 **Developmental Stages**: Human beings progress through stages of self-awareness, from physical to emotional to conceptual understanding.
  • 🌱 **Language and Identity**: The emergence of language is tied to the development of our conceptual self and identity.
  • 🧐 **Understanding Rules**: Children learn the rules governing concepts as they grow, which helps them make sense of the world.
  • 🔄 **Stages of Life**: Many people become stuck in a stage of following societal rules without questioning them.
  • 🤔 **The Disease of Meaning**: A crisis can lead to questioning the rules and the meaning of life, which is a pivotal moment for personal transformation.
  • 🍻 **Anesthetics and Distractions**: People often use substances, work, or other distractions to avoid confronting the deeper questions of life.
  • 💔 **Emotional Ownership**: Taking responsibility for your emotions rather than blaming others is a significant step towards personal empowerment.
  • 📈 **Emotional Navigation**: Learning to navigate your emotional state can improve your health, success, and overall quality of life.
  • 🌟 **Expanding Emotional Repertoire**: Increasing your range of experienced emotions beyond the basic few can lead to a richer, more nuanced life experience.
  • ✈️ **Emotional Mastery**: Objectifying and understanding your emotions allows you to control them, leading to a more intentional and fulfilling life.
Q & A
  • What is the main idea the speaker wants to share with the audience?

    -The speaker wants to share the importance of understanding and managing one's emotions, which he believes can make a significant difference in people's lives.

  • How does the speaker's medical training influence his perspective on human suffering?

    -The speaker's medical training provided him with a close and personal experience of human suffering at every level, which profoundly shaped his understanding of the human condition.

  • What is the significance of the speaker's work with CEOs and leaders?

    -Working with CEOs and leaders allowed the speaker to explore the hidden social dynamics and networks that determine the success or failure of companies, adding another dimension to his understanding of human behavior.

  • Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of teaching one key thing?

    -The speaker emphasizes this because he believes that there is one fundamental concept that, if understood and applied, can greatly improve one's life, which is the focus of his talk.

  • What is the 'disease of meaning' as described by the speaker?

    -The 'disease of meaning' is a state of realization that despite following societal rules and achieving conventional success, one still feels unfulfilled and questions the meaning of life.

  • How does the speaker define 'emotions'?

    -The speaker defines 'emotions' as energy in motion, which are composite biological signals that include a pounding heart rate, sweaty palms, muscle tension, and other stereotypical energetic patterns.

  • What is the difference between 'emotions' and 'feelings' according to the speaker?

    -Emotions are the biological energy signals, while feelings are the awareness in our mind of that energy. Feelings are our conscious recognition of our emotions.

  • Why does the speaker argue that most people are not in control of their emotions?

    -The speaker argues that most people are not in control of their emotions because they are not aware of them or how to navigate through the spectrum of emotions. They often attribute their feelings to external factors rather than taking ownership.

  • What is the purpose of the app the speaker mentions?

    -The app is designed to help individuals understand where they are in the 'universe of emotions' by mapping out different emotional states, allowing users to track their emotional journeys and develop a greater emotional repertoire.

  • How does the speaker suggest one can improve their life through understanding emotions?

    -The speaker suggests that by understanding and gaining control over one's emotions, individuals can predict and improve their health, performance, well-being, fulfillment, and decision-making abilities, leading to a more satisfying and successful life.

  • What is the final advice the speaker gives to the audience?

    -The speaker advises the audience to start by identifying their current emotional state ('What planet am I on?') and then work towards navigating to the emotional state ('planet') they would like to be in, rather than being passive to life's circumstances.

Outlines
00:00
😀 Introduction to the Speaker's Lifelong Study of Human Beings

The speaker, a physician and researcher, introduces himself and expresses his pleasure at delivering a TED Talk. He shares his background, which includes observing his siblings, medical training, immunology research, neuroscience, and working with CEOs and elite athletes. His lifelong curiosity has led him to ponder a central question: if one could teach only one thing, what would it be? This question is the focus of his talk. He also reflects on the development of self-awareness in children, from physical to emotional and finally to conceptual self, and the importance of language in this development.

05:03
🧒 Language Acquisition and Conceptual Understanding in Children

The speaker delves into the language acquisition process of children aged three to six, noting their rapid learning of new words and the beginning of understanding the rules governing these words. He describes the transition from concrete to abstract thinking that occurs between six and nine years of age, where children start to recognize and play with these rules. The speaker humorously points out that many adults remain at a developmental stage similar to that of a nine-year-old, often following societal rules without questioning them. He also touches on the teenage years as a period of rule-testing and the subsequent reversion to rule-following in adulthood.

10:04
🤔 The Search for Meaning and Strategies to Cope with Existential Questions

The speaker discusses the 'disease of meaning,' a crisis that can occur when individuals realize that following societal rules has not led to the expected happiness. He outlines two common strategies people use to avoid confronting this crisis: anesthetics, such as alcohol and drugs, which provide temporary relief but do not solve the underlying issue, and distractions, which can include exercise, sex, materialism, or workaholism. The speaker emphasizes that these external solutions are ineffective in addressing the internal problem of a lack of meaning or purpose in life.

15:06
❤️ Understanding and Managing Emotions for Personal Growth

The speaker shifts the focus to the importance of understanding and managing one's emotions. He differentiates between emotions, which are biological signals or 'energy in motion,' and feelings, which are the mental awareness of these emotions. He challenges the audience to take ownership of their emotional experiences rather than attributing them to external factors. The speaker introduces an app designed to help individuals navigate the 'universe of emotions,' allowing them to identify their current emotional state and explore a broader range of emotional experiences. He encourages the audience to expand their emotional repertoire and to master their emotions to improve their health, well-being, and success.

20:09
🚀 Emotional Mastery for a Fulfilling Life

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the transformative power of emotional control. He suggests that by understanding and managing one's emotions, individuals can predict and improve their health, performance, well-being, and decision-making abilities. The speaker envisions a world where everyone has the ability to choose their emotional state, leading to a life free from unnecessary fear, anxiety, or misery. He leaves the audience with a call to action to become aware of their current emotional 'planet' and to actively navigate towards the emotional state that they desire for a fulfilling life.

👏 End of Talk

The speaker concludes his talk with a round of applause from the audience, signifying their appreciation for his insights and the impact of his message.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Emotional Awareness
Emotional awareness refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions. In the video, it is a central theme as the speaker emphasizes the importance of being aware of one's emotional state to navigate life effectively. The speaker uses the example of a child's development to illustrate the stages of emotional awareness, highlighting how recognizing one's emotions is a critical part of personal growth.
💡Emotional Self
The emotional self is the aspect of an individual that encompasses their feelings and emotional responses. The video discusses the development of emotional self in children, particularly the realization that their emotions are separate from those of their caregivers. This concept is integral to the speaker's message about personal development and emotional intelligence, as it underpins the idea that understanding one's emotions is key to controlling one's life experiences.
💡Consciousness
Consciousness, as discussed in the video, is the state of being aware of and able to think and perceive. It is associated with the development of the 'conceptual self' in children between three and six years old. The speaker uses the concept of consciousness to illustrate how children begin to understand their identity and the rules governing their world, which is a stepping stone towards emotional and mental maturity.
💡Language Acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans develop the ability to understand and use words. The video mentions that children between the ages of three and six learn about six new words every day, highlighting the rapid pace of language acquisition during early childhood. This process is crucial for the development of conceptual self and the ability to navigate and make sense of the world.
💡Concrete Consciousness
Concrete consciousness, as mentioned in the video, is the stage where children start to learn and understand the rules that govern concepts. It typically occurs between six and nine years of age. The video uses the example of a child's realization that a dog is a dog and a cat is a cat to illustrate how this stage is about making sense of the world through rules and categories.
💡Emotional Repertoire
Emotional repertoire refers to the range of emotions that an individual can experience and express. The speaker in the video discusses the importance of expanding one's emotional repertoire beyond the basic ten to twelve emotions that most people are aware of. By expanding this repertoire, individuals can better navigate their emotional state and respond more effectively to different situations.
💡Emotional Navigation
Emotional navigation is the ability to understand and manage one's emotional state in order to move towards desired emotional experiences. The video introduces an app designed to help individuals map their emotions and navigate the 'universe of emotions'. This concept is central to the speaker's argument that understanding and controlling one's emotions is essential for a fulfilling life.
💡Objectification of Emotions
The objectification of emotions involves taking an emotion that is subjectively experienced and recognizing it as a separate, observable phenomenon. In the video, the speaker suggests that by objectifying emotions, individuals can gain control over them. This process is part of the 'Mastery' maneuver, which allows individuals to move towards more positive emotional states and stay there.
💡Victim Position
The victim position is a state of mind where an individual perceives themselves as a victim of their circumstances or the actions of others. The video argues that recognizing that one's emotions are self-generated, rather than imposed by others, is a crucial step in moving away from the victim position towards personal ownership and empowerment.
💡Anaesthetic and Distraction
Anaesthetic and distraction are strategies that people use to avoid dealing with the existential question of life's meaning, as discussed in the video. The speaker mentions alcohol, drugs, gym workouts, sex, materialism, and workaholism as common distractions. These strategies are portrayed as ineffective because they do not address the internal nature of the problem but merely provide temporary relief.
💡Disease of Meaning
The disease of meaning is a term used in the video to describe the crisis of purpose and dissatisfaction that can occur when individuals realize that following societal rules and achieving conventional success does not necessarily lead to happiness. This concept is pivotal in the speaker's narrative about the need for self-reflection and understanding one's emotions to find true fulfillment.
Highlights

The speaker shares an idea that has made a significant impact on their life and could potentially do the same for the audience.

The speaker's background includes a deep study of human beings, from personal experiences to professional medical and neuroscience research.

A profound understanding of human suffering from a medical perspective, including witnessing life and death.

The exploration of the nano-level details of the human immune system and its role in fighting infections.

Experience working with CEOs and leaders to understand the social dynamics that affect the success or failure of companies.

The importance of teaching one key thing to oneself, children, or others, as per the speaker's lifelong question.

The developmental stages of self-awareness in children, from physical to emotional to conceptual self.

The concept that most adults are emotionally and conceptually stuck at around nine years old, following societal rules.

The 'disease of meaning' that arises when one realizes that following societal rules has not led to expected happiness.

Two common strategies to deal with the existential crisis: anaesthetics and distraction.

The realization that external solutions cannot fill internal emptiness or unrest.

The distinction between emotions, which are biological signals, and feelings, which are the awareness of those signals.

The empowerment that comes from taking ownership of one's emotions rather than blaming others.

The introduction of an app designed to help individuals understand and navigate their emotional state.

The concept of emotional navigation and expanding one's emotional repertoire beyond basic emotions.

The importance of mastering one's emotions to move towards more positive emotional states intentionally.

The transformative potential of emotional control on health, performance, well-being, decision-making, and overall life satisfaction.

The speaker's call to action for individuals to take charge of their emotional state and choose the 'planet' of emotional existence they desire.

Transcripts
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