Primary Emotions

I was speaking to a senior HR manager at HSBC yesterday.

He asked me, in complete deviation from anything I expected, to name the primary human emotions which can hamper personal growth.

I hate it when HR people start talking wishy-washy. But right then, he was the manager and I was the job seeker (a.k.a sycophant), so I adopted the 'grin-and-bear-it' strategy.

Primary emotions that can hamper personal growth. Hmmm.

"Anger. Fear. Sadness." I shot off pretty rapidly.
"Correct on all counts," he said. "But there's five. Can you think of the other two?"
"Errr.... uhmmm... Confusion? Pity? Worry?" I was getting desperate.
Patronising smile.
Nope, I guess not.
There was an embarrassing silence.
"Love and Shame," he finally completed. We both seemed surprised that I hadn't thought of Love on my own. It seemed so obvious. I guess I had been focusing on negative emotions.

I might have failed his little personality test, but he very kindly offered me his help by way of a network of recruitment agencies, for which I am incredibly grateful.

"Why not Pride?" I asked him at the end, just as I was leaving.
"Hmm, I'm going to have to think about that one," he said. "You might have a point there".

Is pride a primary emotion? I'm not sure. It might be a complex or secondary emotion. But I'm glad I gave him something to think about.