Listen To Your Emotions
Your emotions control everything you think and do. In addition, they can cause emotional and physical pain if you don’t pay attention to them. The good news is that your emotions can also help you figure out what is and isn’t working in your life.
It doesn’t matter if you see yourself as a very sensitive and emotional person or as someone who is quite rational and logical. Emotions can shape you as a person. Take advantage of your feelings so that you can move on without your emotions taking full control of you.
There are no negative emotions
We have learned to classify our feelings as good or bad. In reality, however, every emotion plays an important role in your life.
What would happen if fear didn’t make you feel the need to protect what you love? Where would you be in your life right now if you weren’t afraid of making mistakes?
We confuse expressing emotions in a negative or destructive way with emotions themselves. The way we express our emotions can cause a lot of damage to ourselves and those around us. However, if you block certain feelings and don’t listen to them, you will be stuck in the same place for a long time.
Love and fear: two basic emotions in life
Love and fear control everything you experience. The rest of the emotions you experience are really just variations of these two basic emotions.
The emotions that arise from fear are: anger, control, sadness, depression, confusion, pain, loneliness, guilt and shame. The emotions that come from love are: joy, gladness, caution, compassion, honesty and contentment.
These are our basic emotions. All other emotions are just simple variations of the intensity of these basic emotions. For example, anger can be expressed as disgust when the light is present and as annoyance when you are about to explode.
Learn to identify your emotions
To understand the message your emotions are trying to convey to you, you must first know what you are actually feeling. How often has it happened that you didn’t know exactly what you were feeling? In other words, you didn’t know what was going on inside you and why.
To recognize your emotions, you need to take the time to focus on yourself. Focus on what you’re feeling and ask yourself a few things about yourself. You may even be able to identify some physical characteristics associated with what you’re feeling.
Watch your feelings and thoughts
Our thoughts unconsciously follow certain patterns. During the day, try to analyze what is going on in your head. This makes it easier for you to become aware of what you love and what you hate.
If possible, try to keep track of these thoughts and the emotions they arouse in you. If you keep this up for a few months, it will eventually be much easier for you to be aware of what you’re feeling.
Identify your ‘little and unimportant aches and pains’
What little things actually hurt you, but do you see as unimportant?
Many people have a habit of making certain hurtful things much less important. Often this is because we feel that this will give these things less power over us, when in fact they only gain power over us. Downplaying and ignoring our pain will only make it worse.
Some of these little aches and pains may have been with you since you were little. These are emotions that can cause a lot of problems when you grow up. You will not be able to move on with your life until you face and acknowledge these emotions.
Be specific about the emotions you experience
We often confuse our emotions because we only use generic terms to talk about them.
An example of this is depression. You may notice that there is a distance between you and your loved ones, that you experience spiritual loneliness, boredom or a lack of meaning in your life. If someone asked you about this, you would probably simply say that you are depressed. However, as you can see, there are many different forms and causes of depression. By understanding the reasons behind your feelings, it will be much easier to resolve them.
So try to be concrete and specific when describing your feelings. This will allow you to get to know yourself better and be better connected with yourself.
Learn to deal with your emotions
Don’t be afraid of your emotions. Do not try to counter them, escape them or block them. Welcome your emotions, experience them and understand them. We are born with these emotions. Our emotions are neither good nor bad. They are simply part of us.
With time you will find that your emotions disappear more and more as you allow yourself to experience and use them. Just close your eyes and try to feel your emotions as deeply as possible.
