Rethink and Manage Our Emotions

Is there a moment that you didn’t want to do anything because of a sudden feeling?

“Hey… well, I’m so tired.”

You probably heard of this kind of conversation all the time. We often adopt this way to express negative feelings in front of someone even before they begin a word.

The truth is, there is way too much stuff we are concerning. Family, GPA, graduate, job, money, relationship, health, time… Are we happy, are we stressed, are we jealous, are we tired? Yes. Thinking of them brings us light or strong emotions, and often we get lost.

I introspect myself every day. I have different emotions at different times of the day. Apparently a lot of them bring positivity, but I need to manage those which impede my work pace, study, and sleeping.

First of all, think about this: where do they come from?

Where they come from

Think about a timeframe — a day. What’s the weather, what’s the plan, and who to meet with. After a long day, ask myself again — what I have done, did I achieve my goal, who I met, am I happy in general?

One thing to point out is we have to accept our negative feelings. I see them all the time. One may even get angry at the kindest people, and one might get jealous of a stranger because of a tiny reason. It requires a presence and brutal honesty to put them out of mind. But still, when we are triggered, we accept them.

Take the Challenge

The next step is to manage these emotions and turn them into self-awareness. It can be really, really, really hard to manage, but it’s personal growth.

I learned from a friend who practiced meditation every Friday afternoon. I wasn’t fully aware of how it works until I tried once. Take a rest for ten minutes. Start with a quiet, empty mind. Don’t get stuck into a single emotion, but allow other emotions to join and enrich our thoughts.

As humans, we have a desire to control things but are hard to accept that they don’t always follow our expectations. Then we get stuck into negative emotions and mess up. In this way, allow ourselves to be curious about our feelings — why appeared, how intense, and what are the impacts. Gradually we stand on a higher level and would see a broader view of the world — at that moment, the struggles we thought to be are no longer but great lessons, because we choose to respect and calmly treat them.

Hear, watch, and understand our emotions. Know who we are, why we are here, what are limits, and what to do. At last, I want to share a passage from the author Marcus Aurelius who also learned from emotional management:

“Here is the rule to remember in the future, When anything tempts you to be bitter: not, ‘This is a misfortune‘ but ‘To bear this worthily is good fortune.’ ” — Marcus Aurelius

Feel comfortable. Reflect happiness. Experience life.