People Remember How You Made Them Feel

Yes, whether good or bad, people remember the emotions they experienced in their interactions with you.

And this applies as much to workplaces as it does to personal and social relationships.

Try this for a moment.

Sit quietly for 30 seconds. Relaxed. Close your eyes (if possible), and think about your boss/ manager from your first job.

What memory comes to your mind first?

Is it any particular scene?

How did it make you feel then?

How does it make you feel right now?

Describe it 1-2 words. Say it to yourself.

Encouraged, Hopeful, Elated, Smart, Recognized, Insulted, Discouraged, Angry, Worthless, Stupid, or just anything?

You may try this with other relations too - parents, colleagues, clients, teachers, in-laws, etc.

What’s interesting is that, you may have had hundreds of interactions with that person over the years. Some good, some bad. Yet certain moments stay deeply etched in memory because of how strongly they made you feel.

That emotion associated with that person is how you will identify them with. You may forget the exact words spoken, but you rarely forget how someone made you feel after speaking to them.

Why does that happen?

This is not just memory or first impression. It is ‘Emotional memory’.

Emotional memory refers to events that evoke strong positive or negative emotions, which are encoded deeply and recalled more vividly than neutral events.

In simple words, Emotional Memory is when emotional experiences become deeply linked to people and relationships. It refers to memories linked to strong emotions (either positive or negative), which tend to stay with us longer because they are processed more deeply than ordinary experiences.

We, as human beings, can have an invisible impact on others. Even after an interaction feels over to us, a part of it may still remain deeply embedded in someone’s memory. Sometimes, a single interaction changes how a person sees themselves for years.

And perhaps that is why kindness, respect, encouragement, and empathy matter far more than we realize, in workplaces as much as personal and social lives.

Because people may leave organizations, meetings, classrooms, or relationships.

But the emotions attached to those experiences often stay with them for years.

Sometimes for life.

What is that emotion that you would want to be remembered for?

#EmotionalIntelligence #SelfAwareness #HumanBehavior #WorkplaceCulture #Psychology #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #EmotionalMemory #Communications

Never Gone: Nostalgic…Back To ‘Bachchpan’ (Book Review)

Book: Never Gone Author: Anusha Subramanian Publisher: Penguin India Do you remember that feeling, when you had your first crush back in good old school days? Or, the days you spent trying to impress your love interest? This book will transport you back to those wonderful days – school days. At least this is what it did to me. It took me back to the days of learning and comprehending emotions such as feelings, emotions, love, friendship, companionship, sympathy, empathy, trust, happiness, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, revenge and the list is endless. I have completed my education in co-ed school and college and very closely witnessed love stories bloom and relationship break. I could completely identify with the story, plot, the setup and the characters. I loved the way the characterization has been done and the flash backs described.

Draupadi - Action Prevails Emotions

The woman of Kaliyuga…. before the Kaliyuga descended One of the few very clear memories I still have of my childhood is when my mother was feeding me lunch and we were happily chatting about Mahabharata. While talking, I said ‘when I grow up, I want to become Draupadi’. She yelled at me ‘ pagal ho gayi ho kya?, kuch bhi bak bak karti ho. Khana khao chup chap ’. I was taken aback by her sudden anger. Barely 7-8 years of age, I didn’t quite understand the reason for her annoyance, then. Today, after decades I certainly do. Indeed, I do understand, why a mother wouldn’t want her daughter to become Draupadi or even get closer to what she suffered. All said and done, she was the heroine of the one of the only two greatest epics of the country’s history – Mahabharata.

From ‘ASL Pls’ To Emoji’s

I don’t get tired; no really, I do not get tired or bored at all narrating our story to anyone. Infact every new person I meet, I try to grab this opportunity to talk about us – You and I! And I surprise myself when I realise that I still remember it all so well. Every single detail of 4 years of friendship, 4 years of long-distance relationship, and 7 years of being married. Well, can’t really say that about the last 7 years :P, but the first 8 years are like embedded in my DNA. Pic clicked by Sudipto Roy I think our story is unique. It’s beautiful. Just 15 years old but so much has changed in this one and half-decade. Or not much?

A(NU) Thought

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