As human beings, our daily lives constitute myriads of emotions that we can’t help ourselves from feeling. Depending on the reasons or stimuli, we may experience both positive and negative emotions. And, that is fine. We should not fault ourselves for having those feelings because each of those is part of human nature.
However, it is equally essential for us to note that when we cradle negative emotions for an extended period, those emotions would corrupt our thoughts and cloud our judgment. Being in that state is detrimental to our health and our productivity. Therefore, we should learn ways to help us manage such negative emotions when necessary.
- Determine if the situation is within your control or not. While there are instances when the challenges you encounter can be fixed or corrected, there are also situations that are unfortunately out of your control, nor can you do something about it. When you find yourself in that situation, it is better to identify where it came from, what triggers the emotion. On the other hand, you should do something to alleviate the circumstance when you see that you can. But the first thing to do is assess the situation to know whether to let it go or work on it.
- Ask yourself better questions like “how can I turn things around?” or “what can I learn from this?”. After identifying whether you can solve the situation, the next thing to do is not to prolong the problem by moping around or blaming people or situations. Instead, you should ask yourself how you can correct or solve this problem if possible. If it is out of your control, you should see the bright side of the situation and learn the lesson that you can glean from it.
- Take necessary actions to make things better. What do you do when the proverbial milk is spilled? You can’t get the liquid back to the cup. You can’t drink it anymore. So what should you do? Wipe the spill to avoid accidents and make another cup of milk. Indeed, that would make you feel better than crying over what was spilled, right? In other words, when things do not go the way you want them to, find different ways to make it happen or find the next solution.
Nobody is perfect, and bad days are inevitable. However, we should not allow these excuses to justify our negative actions or behaviors that we can control. Having control over our own emotions is a skill in itself that is necessary for maintaining relationships, surviving challenging situations, and thriving in general.
What are other ways you can suggest to control emotions?
(Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels)
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