Steps To Controlling Your Emotions

Emotions are the most present, pressing and
sometimes painful force in our lives. We are
driven day by day by our emotions. We take
chances because we’re excited for new
prospects. We cry because we’ve been hurt
and we make sacrifices because we love.
Without a doubt, our emotions dictate our
thoughts, intentions and actions with superior
authority to our rational minds. But when we
act on our emotions too quickly, or we act on
the wrong kinds of emotions, we often make
decisions that we later lament.
Our feelings can alter between dangerous
extremes. Veer too far to the left and you’re
bordering on rage. Steer too much to the right
and you’re in a state of euphoria. As with
many other aspects of life, emotions are best
met with a sense of moderation and logical
perspective. This is not to say that we should
stop ourselves from falling in love or jumping
for joy after great news. These truly are the
finer things in life. It is negative emotions that
must be handled with extreme care.
Negative emotions, like rage, envy or
bitterness, tend to spiral out of control,
especially immediately after they’ve been
triggered. In time, these sorts of emotions can
grow like weeds, slowly conditioning the mind
to function on detrimental feelings and
dominating daily life. Ever met a person who’s
consistently angry or hostile? They weren’t
born that way. But they allowed certain
emotions to stir within them for so long that
they became inbred feelings arising all too
frequently.
So how can we avoid operating on the wrong
types of feelings and master our emotions
under the harshest of circumstances?
Follow the six steps to control your emotions
and regain rationality in any challenging
situation:
Don’t react right away. Reacting immediately
to emotional triggers can be an immense
mistake. It is guaranteed that you’ll say or do
something you’ll later regret. Before refuting
the trigger with your emotional argument, take
a deep breath and stabilize the overwhelming
impulse. Continue to breathe deeply for five
minutes, feeling as your muscles untense and
your heart rate returns to normal. As you
become calmer, affirm to yourself that this is
only temporary.
Ask for divine guidance. Faith is our saving
grace in our darkest moments. No matter your
creed, developing a healthy relationship with
the divine world will help you surmount your
obstacles more easily. This is because when
you believe in a higher force, you also believe
in the power of divine intervention to show
you what you must do, teach you why
something is happening or even save you from
a certain unwanted situation. When burdened
with emotion, close your eyes, envision a
positive solution to your problem, and ask the
universe to illuminate the best path forward.
Find a healthy outlet. Now that you’ve
managed your emotion, you’ll need to release
it in a healthy way. Emotions should never be
bottled up. Call or go see someone you trust
and recount to them what happened. Hearing
an opinion other than your own broadens your
awareness. Keep a journal and transfer your
emotions from your inner self onto the paper.
Many people find it helpful to engage in
aggressive exercises, such as kickboxing or
martial arts, to discharge their feelings. Others
meditate and chant to return to a tranquil
state of being. Perform whatever activity is
best-suited to you in order to liberate your
being from pent-up sentiments.
See the bigger picture. Every happening of
our lives, whether good or bad, serves a higher
purpose. Wisdom means being able to see
past the moment and discern the greater
meaning of any given situation. You may not
understand it in the beginning, but as time
goes by, you’ll begin to see the bigger picture
falling into perfect order. Even in the midst of
an emotionally upsetting moment, trust that
there exists an ultimate purpose which you
will come to comprehend soon.
Replace your thoughts. Negative emotions
bind us to recurring negative thoughts,
creating cycles of downright negative
patterns. Whenever you are confronted with an
emotion which is making you feel or think
something bad, force it out of your mind and
replace it with a different thought. Imagine the
ideal resolution to your problem playing out,
think about someone who makes you happy or
remember an event that makes you smile.
Forgive your emotional triggers. Your
emotional triggers may be your best friend,
your family members, yourself or all of the
above. You may feel a sudden wave of anger
when your friend “does that thing she does,”
or a stab of self-loathing when you remember
something you could have done differently.
But when you forgive, you detach. You detach
from the resentment, the jealousy or the fury
lingering within you. You allow people to be
who they are without the need for escalating
emotions. As you forgive, you will find yourself
disassociating from the harsh feelings
attached to your being.
A constant reminder of our ardent nature,
emotions surge through us at every second of
the day. But we often take wrong actions
when wrong feelings filter through our mind
without restraint. To avoid the burn of acting
out during an emotional upsurge, take a few
simple steps to calm your heightened spirit
and quiet your uneasy mind. When the
moment has passed (in hindsight), you’ll be
grateful you were able to be the master of
your emotions.