Our mission at The BitterSweet Score is about getting people to identify and use their Emotions for their betterment. Can you image how lucky I felt to find a story showcasing exactly that?
Hint Beverage founder Kara Goldin shared her story of success at Pizza & 40, a free monthly speaker series put on by The Hustle, an email newsletter for readers interested in business, design, and tech. Kara shared how a conversation with a competitor’s executive motivated her to keep her company and grow it to its current standing as a 90-million-dollar company.
As I read the article, what caught my attention was Kara Goldin’s remark, “I just put the phone down and lost him for five minutes.” I wondered what was she doing for those five minutes? And why did she have to put the phone down to begin with? What were her feelings after hearing, “Sweetie, Americans love sweet.”
I can only imagine what she did for those five minutes, prompting me to attempt to reach Kara to ask her. When we finally connected, Kara stated, "I stood there, eyes closed, and thought to myself, wait, did he just say 'Sweetie?' I was just so confused as to why he referred to me as 'Sweetie'." We can all infer that the Primary Emotion Kara experienced was Anger. Being called “sweetie” is rarely a preface to a compliment, and clearly it was not one in this scenario. As an expert in Emotions I couldn’t help being fascinated at what Anger did in this situation. Talk about grabbing an Emotion by the horns and letting it propel you forward to the tune of millions?
All Emotions have power. This story just shows how they can fuel your forward momentum.
Anger, in particular, has the ability to pump a person up as it releases adrenaline, preparing one for a fight. Anger creates a physiological response of power. We can take on the world when we are in that Emotional space. Anger keeps us from defeat, keeps us from giving up, it creates energy and it creates momentum. That is the Sweet side of Anger.
In Kara’s story, she took some time before coming back to that beverage executive. Part of the power of our Emotions is knowing what to do with them. Had Kara not taken pause, perhaps she would have responded to the executive poorly, leaving her credibility in question. Had Kara not taken five minutes, maybe she would have agreed with the executive and given up hope on her business.
When an Emotion comes on, it is very tempting to simply react "with" it, when instead, you may want to pause and determine the best way to react “to” it. Now, if you are dodging an oncoming vehicle about to hit you, you react with the Fear and jump quickly out of the way, no five minutes recommended. In a case like Kara’s, it is better to figure out what you are feeling and determine how best to use the Emotions. Taking a pause can change the outcome of a scenario. A moment is plenty of time, when you are in an Emotional state, to harness the Emotion. Emotions are powerful, and how we use them determines our successes in life.
Do you have a similar story you can share?