Tip: E over I will make you lie, but I over E will set you free!
Tip of the Week
04/07/2014
Tip: E over I will make you lie, but I over E will set you free!
Occasionally I have heard a unique quote, or a famous saying, or a poem that has stuck in my memory forever. There are just some thoughts that cause our mind to take special notice. That is the case with this week’s Tip.
Years ago I was in a meeting with a friend of mine and saw a sign that read, “E over I will make you lie, but I over E will set you free”. I asked my friend to please explain what that meant. He told me that “E” stood for emotion and “I” stood for intellect. He said that when your emotions are over your intellect you may end up deceiving yourself and others. But, when your intellect is over your emotions, you will likely be free from deception and confusion. Your intellect generally will tell you to do what is honest, right and fair; whereas your emotions may cloud or confuse the issue with self-pity, deception, manipulation, or unhealthy control.
I began to notice in my daily experience, after pondering that concept over the next few days, just how true those few words actually are! All of us have two parts of our daily life which are constantly fighting for control. There is the intellectual part that tells us to do the next right thing and to do our best in every situation. Then there is the emotional aspect that sometimes can take daily circumstances, special situations, self-pity, being tired or hungry, and a whole host of other scenarios, which lead us to ultimately deceive ourselves into doing what is more convenient rather than what is more prudent. It is one thing when someone else lies to us. However, it is even worse when we began to lie to ourselves!
There is nothing wrong with emotion. It is a natural part of our everyday life. I am grateful that we do have emotions because they are like lights on a dashboard that indicate something may be wrong or that something needs special attention. However, it is not wise to listen solely to emotions and be led by them. Rather, we should allow our emotions to turn us to our intellect for good, sound reasoning rather than reasoning that sound good! We all have access to close friends, counselors, and advisers who are valuable in helping us make wise decisions.
Ask yourself which one is ruling your life…emotions or intellect. It may be necessary to do this in each different situation you face. Sometimes our intellect gets priority. Other times our emotions take priority. It is a good idea for us to step back and see which one is ruling our lives in our decision-making process. While each is important, both have their own place. We need to be certain that they are in the proper priority. After all…none of us should want to live in deception when we can live in the truth and be free.
And the famous saying goes that you have heard all of your life, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time!” I want to add one more piece to that famous quote – “…and you should never want to fool yourself!”
Tip: E over I will make you lie, but I over E will set you free!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
