This is my fourth learning journal on the course ZT2253 Pengurusan Emosi. It was a pleasure that the lecturer, Dr. Zamri complimented us on our tremendous improvement in writing learning journal because we are able to put in our own story, experience and emotion relating to what've been learnt during the lecture. As usual, before the formal lecture started, we were presented with another interesting and moving video clip on an ordinary poor country boy who had made it a success as a lecturer in the well respected University of Malaya after he went through so much of hardships in his younger days as he lived in poverty. It did give a heartache to learn from the well-written and humorous lyrics that despite the impoverishment and poverty-stricken condition he lived in, it did not act as a deterrance for him to accomplish such amazing achievement that made both his parents proud in fact it serves as a motivation, a driving force that lead to his success. My heart sank and he immediately becomes my role model. I will look up on him whenever i face any difficulties and obstacles in life because he thought me that nothing is impossibe if you have the will and determination. Moreover, who am i to grudge and whine at the unappaling matters that fall upon me as there are many others who suffered more than i do but they too bear through everything because they have faith in God and never give up on theirselves. In addition, recently while i was browsing the internet, i came acoss an article of one of the most powerful and wealthy prominent figure in the world, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Company. Apparently, Steve Jobs' success does not come easily too. During his younger day, he was adopted by a family and he used to be a drop-out from college. Before Apple Inc. becomes a successful and sophisticated company and products in the world, it isn't really an easy path as he has to go through ups and downs before comfortably being appointed as the chief and to be able to enjoy the wealth and luxurious life not forgetting his roots and the past by constantly giving out to the society. His story teaches me that success doesn't come easily and we have to strive hard for our future and we will eventually called it an accomplishment if we work hard for it, doing what we like best.
The first lecture was on "Emotion and Motivation". Apparently, both emotion and motivation are very much related to each other (Baron & Logan 1993). As what we have learned from the previous lecture, my understanding of emotion is the intense feeling or a state of mind from one's cirsumstances that are always either a positive or negative. On the other hand, motivation is the study of directional and energizing aspects of behavior. Emotion could be a motivation of our behaviours and our motives can lead to excessive emotion (Lang et al, 1992). For instance, our love for someone dear to us will drive us to sacrifice our time and energy for them , especially our parents or partner in life. However, emotion can lead us to commit murder, which is sinful. Nonetheless, not all emotion is a motivation and not all motivation is driven by emotion for example our initiation to strive hard in studies is due to achievement motive and our crave for food is due to insatiable hunger. As for me, i was once triggered by angst and this had lead me to get into a fight with friends. Therefore, it's important to learn self-control. Besides, a state of happiness can also drive us to strive harder for a better outcome. For example when the lecturer had complimented on my performance in the exams or PBL sessions, it actually makes my day and i vow to do better for the following session.
James-Lange theory of emotion proposes that emotions occur as a result of phyiological reactions to events. On the contrary, Cannon-Bard theory states that we feel emotions and experience physiological reactions such as sweating, trembling and muscle tension simultaneously. This is proceeded by the two-factor theory of emotion that focuses on the interaction between physical arousal and how we cognitively label that arousal. For example, the process begins with the stimulus (a shadowy man), which is followed by the physical arousal (rapid heartbeat and trembling). Added to this is the cognitive label (associating the physical reactions to fear), which is immediately followed by the conscious experience of the emotion (fear).
Emotion is apparently more to than just a feeling felt within us. It's a state of arousal involving facial and body changes, brain activation, cognitive appraisals, subjective feelings, and tendencies toward action, all shaped by cultural rules. Emotions are also our adaptive response which assists in out behaviour and actions to be taken. On the other hand, motivation is what makes a person do one thing. It is the processes of the selection of the action of further activity, of further interactive activity (Mook, 1996). This is true as emotion serves as an arousal, a catalyst for us to take further action whereas motivation is a factor that contribute to it. In other words, my parents have always been my ultimate motivation and thus for all the hardwork that i work through, they do play a significant role in my actions and whenever i feel like giving up, they will come across my mind and for that it actually boosts my confidence and tenacity again. It is also driven by love and affection that i have for my parents that I become who I am today.
There are several theories on motivation. As we have discussed before, motivation is the factors that cause our behaviour. A drive, is an internal condition or impulse that activates behavior to reduce a need and maintain a balance. A driving force is actually a state of mind that compromised our central nervous system. It is also to restore homeostasis in our body affected by our body tissues' need and if often seen in changes if there is electrolyte imbalance. Therefore a drive that causes any homeostasis imbalance cause our further behaviour to make it a balance again. For example, when we are hungry due to low glucose level in the body that makes us fatigue, we will eventually eat something in order to satisfy the needsand to restore energy. A compensatory mechanism in the body of a patient with heart failure, a condition in which blood is inadequately pumped which reduce blood flow , is to release the hormone epinephrine to increase in the heart pumping action so that blood can be supply in a faster way and bigger amount to supply the tissues need. Water and sodium retention in the kidney is to account for the maintainance of blood volume in our body instead of being secreted in the urine. For the same token, incentive is the external goal that "pulls" or "pushes" behavior. It provides a motive for our actions. Incentive can be in the form of financial or non-financial. Non financial could be due to coertive or moral value. For instance, we do not spit or throw rubbish everywhere because it is illegal and morally wrong to commit such disrespectful act as a civilised society. As for financial drive, I recalled that when I was in primary school, during the prize giving ceremony, incentive in the form of money was given to those who excels in the examination and sports. This actually makes me work harder in both academic and cocurricular aspects because I feel proud and happy to receive such tempting prizes to deposit it in my saving account for future uses. Instinct on the other hand is something innate of our natural way of thinking to certain stimuli. Examples include animal fighting, animal courtship behavior, internal escape functions, and building of nests. Humanistic theory is a hierachy of needs purposed by Abraham Maslow. It could be divided into several levels from basic survival needs to psychological and self-fulfillment needs. When drawing the pyramid of needs, Basic needs comprised of Physiological (food, water, rest) followed by Safety needs (security) serve as the base of the pyramid which means that it is the most important and necessary need that we ought to have. This is followed by our physiological needs, the belonging and love needs from intimate relation ships with family and friends. Esteem needs are also an indispensable part of our life. We need to have confident and self-esteem in life as it gives a feeling of self-accomplishment that actually makes the our life more meaningful. Lastly, what makes the apex or the top of the "pyramid of needs" is our self-fulfillment needs. It is a goal in achieving one's full potential. We have to bear in mind that eachof us have purpose in life and devotion to God. We are born differently and uniquely with different role to play in life so never belittle our own self because we are actually more than what we think we are as we can achieve more in future.
As a conclusion, Emotion emphasizes on arousal, while motivation emphasizes on action. I believed that my motivation will eventually lead me to succeed and greater accomplishment in future. There are many examples in life that shown how success doesn't come easily so we have to be persevere and determined. Quote Steve Jobs, "You cant connect the dots looking forward; You can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots are somehow connect to your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leaves you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference". I hope that when I look back from the future, i will not feel a tinge sense of remorse and make it through the end as a sucessful person.
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