“Emotional Intensity is that unquenchable burning desire that propels us to be the best version of ourselves”

—Sam Adettiwar

When you think, feel and act intensely you are making way for the enormous psychic energies that lie submerged in your subconscious and buried even deeper within your unconscious self. Intensity helps this energy push through layers of conventionality and tradition till it bursts forth into the world as creative brilliance and purposeful action. Here let me give you the example of a legendary inventor and entrepreneur – Steve Jobs. He dreamed and worked with such intensity that he gave the world designs and devices that no one could have dreamed of before. He could never have achieved such heights of greatness by being mired in the drama of managing emotions. Seeking to control, soothe and manage emotions – your own as well as of those around you –  is a criminal waste of time and energy – that is much better spent at dreaming big and achieving bigger. So use emotional intensity not just to unlock your potential but propel it out to the world where it can power your dreams and goals to Greatness.

Now emotional intensity is often confused with symptoms of mania like overactive and excessively excited behaviour. Because such symptoms are common in psychological mood disorders like bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, postpartum psychosis or schizoaffective disorder, the emotional intensity has been getting some bad press.

But I tell you that resistance is a synonym for this world we live in – any idea that is new, energetic and powerful will always be pulled down by the mainstream and traditional modes of thinking. So get out of the binary of normal/abnormal to expand your insight into this most electric of energy sources. Indeed I would boldly proclaim that emotional intensity is not a disorder but a hiorder. Emotional intensity fires you up to the dream of great things, energizes you to work towards Actualization and best of all, fills you with a creative buzz just loud enough to drown out the whining naysayers. Look at Hollywood stars like Robert Downing Jr and Bollywood icons like Shahrukh Khan – can’t you see them oozing emotional intensity on and off-screen? They not only bring alive the characters they play but lead personal lives full of zest and joie de vivre. But by no accounts, can they be labelled insane. They choose roles, movies and take professional decisions with clarity and purpose. Mixed martial artist and boxer Conor McGregor has been embroiled in so many controversies but even then his obsession with being the best fighter shines through. That is how emotional intensity makes you work and live like a Mahatman – lion-size, larger than life itself but in command of all your mental faculties. 

It is all very well to exhort others to be emotionally intense to the extent that you do not tip over to insanity. But how do you identify that all-important dividing line? Mahatman has several ways of helping you to live intensely without succumbing to insanity.

What if I told you about a person who stalked different men every day and clicked people their sleep? You would probably recoil in disgust and get ready to call the cops. But that is exactly what French photographer and installation artist  Sophie Calle became famous for doing in the 1980s. These works depict human vulnerability while questioning issues of identity and intimacy – all of which would not have been possible within the confines of emotional calm and balance. To imagine and create such works of art, it is essential to shrug off the limitations of the straightlaced and the staid and allow yourself to be directed by sheer emotional intensity. In such situations, this energy is directed by wholesome intention – to create art, science, technology, or philosophy – and so is saved from insanity or depravity.

Thomas Edison comes to mind as the brightest example of what emotional intensity really implies. Remember his famous words upon hitting a stumbling block with the electric bulb, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Imagine the fervor for work that such a mentality indicates – so what if he was known to push a few buttons here and there, tick off his employees and subordinates if they slacked. Genius has no time for managing emotions – there is simply so much to be done that you would be frittering away precious time and energy by worrying about how to make someone feel better. Unleash your emotional energy and like a laser beam and focus it on your purpose – then watch it burn away all the dross and sculpt your goal in the sharpest relief. 

Above all, emotional intensity should flow organically from the self. Think of the iconic speech given by that great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr – how can you not help but marvel at the emotional intensity firing up each word, phrase, and thought? Directed towards the purpose of civil rights activists, this type of emotional intensity energized him to rise above personal and ideological attacks to demand racial integration and end to discrimination. The emotional intensity that does not emerge naturally from the self will always be in conflict with the rational part of the self. On the contrary, Mahatman puts forward a state of integration where careful thoughts and plans are used to achieve dreams and goals but at the same time, they are energized by the subconscious, intense power of emotions. 

Here are a few more advantages of Living with Emotional Intensity:

How many mornings have you been absolutely unable to get yourself out of bed? Do you remember the last you were so exhausted at work that you just did not want to make that stop at the gym? The way to overcome such physical and mental inertia is to live with emotional intensity. Conjure up images of just killing the boardroom presentation at work and you will immediately feel fired up to rise and shine. Imagine the pleasure of having a toned, good looking body and you will have no trouble of slipping into your gym wear even after a full workday. Emotional intensity is all about shaking off the lethargy that occasionally paralyzes your body and mind. Research 1 has found that eustress – whose signs like an adrenaline rush and higher pulse rate mimics emotional intensity – can actually protect the body against oxidative damage, which is linked to aging and disease. The benefits to the mind are even more. Scientists are increasingly believing that stress can actually aid in problem-solving and building motivation as well as resilience. When you find yourself whining that you are tired and just cannot do it or take it anymore, it is time to unleash that emotional intensity and power your way to achieve great things.

Do you think Columbus would have found the way to the American mainland if he had been seeking merely emotional balance all the way? Or Edmund Hillary had been able to push on to the highest peak in the mountain by seeking emotional peace and calm? It is an only intensity that can equip you with the energy and grit to break through the boundaries of the familiar and known worlds. It is only by being intensely imaginative and driven that you can keep pushing into the unknown to chart your way through territories never touched before. Emotional Intensity is thus one of the fundamental traits of all successful people who have achieved great milestones – as inventors, artists, scientists, or leaders. In other words, People who achieve greatness have one thing in common – they follow intense lifestyles. 

Why take Life so seriously anyway? Find and fulfill your true purpose with a sense of playfulness and adventure. Remember how as a child you would believe anything was possible and you could be what you wanted. If you feel jaded and tired now, let emotional intensity help you to bring forth a renewed sense of wonder and adventure in your life so that you can soar towards your Actualized Self.

Emotional intensity is about the sharing of all the energies of the self with the world. All the skills, emotions, learning and experience that are bubbling within your subconscious need to be expressed fully to be a Mahatman and it is intensity that will make this happen. Here is where I give an example from my own life. Being born in a small village in India, I would always dream of winning the world. There were innumerable psychological and financial hurdles in my way but none that could defeat my intense desire to cross the seven seas. Throughout my childhood and young adulthood, I felt the flames of obsession licking at my insides and firing me to follow my heroes like Walt Disney and Steve Jobs. Finally I made it in the US and like my designer-inventor idols, I am now on my way to spread the philosophy of Mahatman. This is how emotional intensity has not just energized me to dream and achieve big but pour out my creative energies towards all of humanity. This is how it is helping me live as a whole, integrated person where I experience supreme one-ness at a functional level. There is little or no conflict within me, between instinct and thought, between what I am urged to do and what I think is right – in other words, the emotional intensity has unleashed my instincts to a purposeful and wholesome way of being. Finally, I say to you, live intensely so that you can give your all to the world – without holding anything back. This will take you to the peak of Greatness and you will emerge as the Actualized Soul.