It appears I never ever miss a Christmas without a pay a visit to to a crowed, large-chain toy shop to get items that my grand youngsters can not live without. A number of years ago, I had an unforgettable encounter in one particular of the toy retailers. I don't forget the shop was quit crowded, and consumers were possessing some difficulty maneuvering the aisles.
I was slowly operating my way by means of an aisle and was stopped by a lady who was looking at a toy and didn't notice her cart was blocking the pathway. The lady in front of me looked back at me and our eyes met with a recognizing smile. Both of us understood that the lady didn't intend to block the path and would be moving on momentarily. So we each just waited patiently.
All of a sudden the woman who was in the way noticed that she was blocking us. As she turned, she exploded in a tirade, "Why didn't you tell me you had been there? How rude!" (This description was particularly mild compared to the words that essentially came out of that woman's mouth.) The lady straight behind her tried to explain, "It really is OK. No one was upset. We were trying to be patient and wait so we did not interrupt your thoughts." The first woman became even additional enraged. In an instant, both ladies had been exchanging bursts of angry words.
The event took place in a split second, and, as the two women wheeled away from each other in a huff, I identified myself left wide-eyed asking yourself what just occurred. Each ladies became emotionally hijacked by the event. I was relieved that their tirade of anger wasn't aimed at me.
As we recall the disturbance, it may appear hassle-free to judge the woman who blocked the path (the initial lady). Her angry retort to the considerate words of the waiting woman seemed unfounded. This anger incited the "waiting" lady who reacted in kind. The "waiting" woman's angered reaction fanned the fires, and the occasion exploded in loud shouts and inflamed words.
This disturbance serves to illustrate how perception and judgment can trigger emotions (in this case unfavorable) and can cloud people's thinking causing them to overreact to circumstances. Apparently, men and women waiting behind the woman who blocked the aisle, triggered negative emotions and she reacted angrily. Perhaps she felt defensive, self-conscious or intimidated which may possibly have threatened her self-esteem or produced her feel she was being treated unfairly. Unfavorable emotions can trigger a fight or flight response. In this case the negative feelings evoked a fight response. And the angry woman's lashing out to the waiting woman triggered the same fight response. At times these sorts of scenarios can escalate to yelling and can even grow to be physical (thankfully not so in this event).
It's typical to judge consumers. But that judgment is unfounded when we think of that no 1 knew why the woman exploded so violently. There could be any number of reasons underlying her emotional response. Maybe she was pressed for time, or had a exceptionally sick youngster who wanted the toy, or the cost of the toy was beyond her indicates.
This event stresses how fundamental it is to be aware of our emotions (a core competency of Emotional Intelligence). This awareness enables us to choose what we want to experience rather than react to circumstances. In addition we can better manage our emotions when we curb our judgments, recognizing that we do not have insight into why other people today may well react to events the way they do.
No comments:
Post a Comment