Relationships
Emotions
Emotional Intelligence Is A Good Thing
Emotions don’t run you. You run them. Emotions have a purpose and they inform us of what we need. When we are in touch with our emotions we can identify exactly what we are feeling. This increase in awareness can allow us to make better decisions, become aware and tend to our needs, and communicate more effectively. This way, instead of avoiding a situation that stirs up unpleasant emotions altogether (i.e. not attending a job interview due to feelings of anxiety or fear despite needing or wanting a job), we get to decide if we want to partake in situations that we value (i.e. a job interview) despite the discomfort it brings up for us (i.e. anxiety).
You learn how to deal with difficult emotions instead of them getting the best of you. Unpleasant emotions can be difficult to sit with, yet they are an inevitable aspect of the human experience. Those who acknowledge their feelings – the good and the bad – will more likely choose to partake in situations they value, therefore increasing their chances of feeling satisfied in life. By learning how to deal with difficult feelings, you first have to experience and acknowledge the emotion, not avoid the feeling or situations that bring up these unpleasant feelings for you. You can utilize self-soothing techniques when you notice difficult feelings come up for you. This way, you can still go after your goals opposed to losing out on opportunities due to the discomfort accompanied by them (i.e. being able to self-soothe during a job interview).
You allow emotions to teach you instead of govern you. Emotions provide us information. When we feel angry, this could mean a boundary has been crossed, something feels unfair, or we feel taken advantage of. When we acknowledge and sit with our emotions we allow ourselves the opportunity to reflect and then to act in a way we value. When we allow our feelings to teach us, we provide ourselves the opportunity to better understand what it is we need and to choose how we want to respond to our emotions and/or the situation that brought up this feeling. This way we can feel empowered with how we respond opposed to reacting out of avoidance or impulsivity.
If acknowledging and validating your feelings sounds difficult for you to do, start here 3 Ways to Stop Numbing Your Feelings.
- Your emotions don’t run you. You run them. Emotions have a purpose and they inform us of what we need. When we are in touch with our emotions we can identify exactly what we are feeling. This increase in awareness can allow us to make better decisions, become aware and tend to our needs, and communicate more effectively. This way, instead of avoiding a situation that stirs up unpleasant emotions altogether (i.e. not attending a job interview due to feelings of anxiety or fear despite needing or wanting a job), we get to decide if we want to partake in situations that we value (i.e. a job interview) despite the discomfort it brings up for us (i.e. anxiety).
- You learn how to deal with difficult emotions instead of them getting the best of you. Unpleasant emotions can be difficult to sit with, yet they are an inevitable aspect of the human experience. Those who acknowledge their feelings – the good and the bad – will more likely choose to partake in situations they value, therefore increasing their chances of feeling satisfied in life. By learning how to deal with difficult emotions, you first have to experience and acknowledge the emotion, not avoid the feeling or situations that bring up these unpleasant feelings for you. You can utilize self-soothing techniques when you notice difficult feelings come up for you. This way, you can still go after your goals opposed to losing out on opportunities due to the discomfort accompanied by them (i.e. being able to self-soothe during a job interview).
- You allow emotions to teach you instead of govern you. Emotions provide us information. When we feel angry, this could mean a boundary has been crossed, something feels unfair, or we feel taken advantage of. When we acknowledge and sit with our emotions we allow ourselves the opportunity to reflect and then to act in a way we value. When we allow our emotions to teach us, we provide ourselves the opportunity to better understand what it is we need and to choose how we want to respond to our emotions and/or the situation that brought up this feeling. This way we can feel empowered with how we respond opposed to reacting out of avoidance or impulsivity.
If acknowledging and validating your feelings sounds difficult for you to do, start here 3 Ways to Stop Numbing Your Feelings.
