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We’ve all succumbed to the temptation of venting on social media, but in this post, Patrice Gorin’s question “who are you really talking to” may put the breaks on future online rants. 

I once came across a great insight by Aristotle: 

“Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody’s power, that is not easy.”

Recently, while watching Facebook friends express their grievances, I was reminded of this and wondered whether social media was a productive force in helping us better manage our emotions.

Before I express any of my own grievances, I am usually triggered by thoughts, emotions, ideas or feelings. This can either elicit an automated response, or an internal reflection, before taking action. 

When I experience a deep sense of clarity – an automated response works well. But sometimes the latter is more appropriate. Stephen Covey describes it nicely with his play on ‘response-ability’. The ability to choose our responses.

Knowing when to remain in automatic mode and when to switch gear is not so easy and can be counter-intuitive. The intuition to go into automatic can sometimes be flawed, for example, we may feel anger towards Trump on Social media, however, it may have less to do with him and more to do with our own inner conflicts.

 

Key points include:

• Response-ability
• Going into automatic mode
• Filtering for understanding

Read the full article, Expressing our grievances on social media: Who are you really talking to?, on LuxisConsulting.com.