Emotions are at the epicenter of our thinking. People with wounds in the emotion-processing parts of the brain are not super smart; they are actually sometimes quite abandoned.
Our emotions are there to be felt but not to dominate our life neither to steal our energy nor to determine our future. Negative, bad emotions do not help us to find a solution. In contrast, flexibility is an important tool in our daily life. We have to permit ourselves to be sad, angry or to commit errors. With this in mind it will be easier to become mentally stable again and return to a happy state of mind.
Emotions are like a compass, indicating “safety” or “danger” in our environment. However, this compass is not very trustworthy. In fact, it leads us very easy to the wrong way. It is then when we start avoiding situations or people which can be quite constructive for our aspirations. For example, if we feel anxious to tell our parents that we have suspended a subject, we won’t have the motivation to tell them the truth. But, they will hear about this bad note from the teacher. In this case, following our anxiety (the emotion) can get us in trouble. Therefore the importance to learn how to trust our emotions is fundamental. Sometimes you take decisions and you wonder “What the hell was I thinking?” There is a probability that you were not thinking in this moment, your emotions took over, you may have been acting on emotions and not rational or on logic. The stronger and extreme your emotions, the more your judgment may be clouded. An example can be that you are dating a very attractive person who treats you horribly. Your feelings towards this person can guide you to astray if you are not prudent.
Let’s see the effect of some emotions:
Excitement. There is a reason why Abercrombie & Fitch use dimmed lights, loud music and perfume. They want you to get excited! The more excited you feel, the more likely you will spend your money there.
Anxiety. When you’re feeling worried, you possibly will refuse to create change or you may perhaps struggle to make decisions. As a result, your thinking is likely to be clouded.
Sadness. “Blues” can cause you to settle. Creating low expectations for yourself can prevent you from reaching your greatest potential. Probably your boss is asking you for a promotion and you may decide to neglect it because you are feeling down.
Anger. Intense emotions can lead to impulsive decisions, and anger or embarrassment may make you particularly vulnerable to high-risk choices.
Raise your logic and decrease your emotional reactivity.
Express yourself, experience the relief that you can generate by sharing your thoughts with another person.
Manage your memories with intelligence. Human beings have a prodigious capacity to store their memories as well as remember lived happenings. There are objects that can influence you to remember something negative and to experience these irrational emotions again and again. Be smart, you can choose what you want to remember. Be brave and delete old photos, phone numbers or whatsapp conversations.
Recognize that you cannot control each situation. It is healthy to know that there are aspects in our life that we cannot influence or manipulate. There are situations that we cannot change but you can change your way to affront them, you can choose if you want to live a situation in a pessimistic or optimistic way, you have the choice.
