Excitement is NOT an empowering emotion, and in this article you are going to learn why that is and why you should be mindful of the things that excite you.
Throughout the process of writing my new book, I created what I call the 6 Vectors of Perception and the Map of Emotion which provide a framework for understanding the human emotional experience. The 6 Vectors of Perception incorporates our perceptions of either positive or negative, spaced out across three periods of time - past, present and future.
Vector 1 is past negative, Vector 2 is past positive, Vector 3 is present negative, Vector 4 is present positive, Vector 5 is future negative, Vector 6 is future positive, and most people believe that Vector 6 is the most important vector because it provides us with a positive future.
In my book, I explain how Vector 6 is a disempowering place to focus our energy upon because if we are thinking about something future-based that excites us, it takes our energy away from what we’re doing in the present moment. Not only that but as you will soon see, excitement is the exact same thing as fear: excitement is fear in disguise.
"Excitement is fear in disguise"
A number of people have proofread my book and asked the same or similar questions: “How is it disempowering to want a positive future?” or “How is excitement a disempowering emotion?”. As I responded to each person individually, I started to realise my lack of clear explanation but when I did share clarification, people found it quite enlightening.
Here is the explanation:
For us to be excited about something, we must be focused on either attaining something in the future which we desire or losing something in the future which we despise. For example, we might want to go on a date with a person we are attracted to which leads to excitement towards the date. Or we might be at a work lunch and be excited to leave and get away from our annoying colleagues.
Whether we want to gain proximity to the things we love, or gain distance to the things we hate, both of these things are actually happening simultaneously. When we want to gain proximity to the person we’re attracted to, at that same moment we are unconsciously wanting to gain distance away from a feeling of loneliness. The two seemingly different things are actually both part of the same thing and occurring simultaneously.
This is how all human motivation works. We want to move away from a negative feeling like loneliness and move towards a positive feeling of having connection. The same with going to a work lunch, we might hate being at the work lunch and simultaneously love to be at home reading a book.
The pain of what we’re experiencing and the pleasure of what we desire are both happening simultaneously. We can never have pain without pleasure, they are both two sides of the same coin. In the same way that hot and cold are just different degrees of temperature, pain and pleasure are different degrees of sensation.
Temperature
(-) Cold |-------------------------------------------------------| Hot (+)
Sensation
(-) Pain |-------------------------------------------------------| Pleasure (+)
So how are excitement and fear the same thing?
Because we are excited to experience positive things, we also become fearful of losing the thing that excites us. Why? Because we’ll then be faced with the underlying pain that drove the excitement and desire in the first place. For example, say we’re excited to go on a date, at that exact same time we’re fearful of being alone or being bored (whatever the underlying pain is that is driving a person to go on a date). There is always some type of present pain driving us to desire the future pleasure.
Future Feelings
(-) Fear |-------------------------------------------------------| Excitement (+)
Motivational Force
(-) Repulsion |-------------------------------------------------------| Attraction (+)
Looking at another example, if a person is fearful of being poor they may well be excited to become rich. Or said differently, if a person is excited to create wealth, if you look into their unconscious mind you will see a fear of being poor. A person is usually only conscious of one ‘pole’ at a time, either the positive or the negative pole. So if someone is fearful they are unconscious to their excitement, and if someone is excited they are unconscious to their fear.
Anything that excites us in the future will also come with the fear of the loss of. If a person is excited by money coming into their bank account they will be fearful of money exiting their bank account. If a person is excited by a specific person coming into their life they will be fearful of losing that specific person in the future. If we’re excited for something to happen we will be fearful of its opposite happening. This is a universal law, it can’t not be true. The moment we have excitement, we also simultaneously have fear.
So to say that fear is bad and excitement is good is foolish. To say that fear is bad is also to say that excitement is bad. Vice versa, to say that excitement is good is also to say that fear is good. So which one is it? Is excitement better than fear? Is fear worse than excitement? They are both one in the same, and neither are optimal, they are both disempowered emotions.
If we are scared of experiencing a negative future, or excited to experience a positive future, we have lost touch with the present moment and in doing so lost touch with the only thing that truly matters. When we are doing what we love in the present moment, how can the future be anything other than one that we love. If we are not doing what we love in the present, I can guarantee you it is because your fears and excitements have led you to where you are now.
If your fears and excitements are driving you then you will never be able to find yourself, find your purpose or do what you love because you will always be seeking or avoiding certain future experiences. You will always be in the future, and never in the present moment where your authentic and inspired self exists. Motivation is driven from fear and excitement, inspiration is driven through enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is doing what inspires us now, not because of a future destination we hope to arrive upon.
This is why I advocate away from having a vision board and dreams, and instead advocate for doing what inspires you and letting your destiny be a reflection of love and not a reflection of fear and excitement. When we are in love with the present moment, we’re enthusiastic and inspired from within; there is no outside source or extrinsic drive making our decisions for us.
In these moments we’re guided by the soul.
Live Inspired,
John
PS: Each month I write a free newsletter that explores tips for empowering and inspiring ourselves by mastering our psychology and tapping into our spiritual potential.
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