Our emotions are there to guide us; they can be seen as a gift or a curse. It is better to see emotions as a call to action or as your body giving you free wisdom about a situation. Feel your emotions and follow where they lead. Get out of negative situations which cause you stress and anxiety and make positive changes in your life in order to create the life that you deserve. Honour and listen to your emotions.
Happiness
Ever wondered how some people seem to be more naturally happy and optimistic? Happy people focus on the good things in their life the vast majority of the time. They will still have their ups and downs but will look at life with a more positive view.
It is possible to learn to be happier and more optimistic. Figure out what makes you happy and do more of it. Have the courage to go after what makes you happy. Emotional states can be created consciously; decide how you want to feel today.
This morning I wanted to be happy, so I got up and created a positive mood by doing my gratitude practise as I opened the curtains and got dressed. I put on colourful clothing which helped to give me a boost. I then did yoga and meditation and took this calm and happy feeling into the rest of the day. Of course things are going to happen during the day which will threaten to pull me off course but if I start to feel negative emotions I stop and take a few deep breaths before continuing and if things get too overwhelming I try to remove myself from the situation. I can choose not to react too emotionally to everything that is going on around me.
I have learnt that I am in control of my emotions; I can choose how I want to feel on a daily basis. My emotions are there to guide me; I’m not scared of feeling negative emotions.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is just as important to having a successful, balanced life then IQ maybe more so. Emotional Intelligence is about being in touch with your feelings and having the courage to feel them even if they are negative and don’t feel good. It’s also about choosing how we feel through mindfulness. We can choose what to think about and how much time to spend on things that don’t make us feel good such as worrying or gossiping.
Be Great- feel great!
Create a Happiness list
Take a pen and paper and write down all the things that make you feel happy or that you have always wanted to try. Then build time into your schedule to do more of these things. In this way you will be creating a recipe for happiness in your life.
"If things go wrong learn from your mistakes, ask yourself what you would do differently next time. Don’t beat yourself up and think I wish I’d done, this, this or this. Move on and if a similar situation presents itself again you will know what to do."
It’s also a good idea to make a list of the things in your life that make you unhappy, stressed or anxious and do your best to eliminate those things. However be careful not to avoid things. For example if your job is causing you to feel stressed and anxious it may be time to start looking for a new one, thus eliminating the stress from your life. If however you are suffering from social anxiety then avoiding social situations and staying at home by yourself would add to the vicious circle of anxiety and cause you more unhappiness in the long term.
Set aside worry time
If you are someone who worries a lot then it might be helpful to set aside worry time in order to break the habit of worry. Spend no more than ten minutes a day worrying. If you catch yourself worrying at other times then tell yourself to stop it. Consciously make an effort to think about something else.
Feel your emotions- Sit with it
This is a technique that I learnt whilst at a yoga centre in Australia. The idea is that if you begin to feel any strong emotions then stop what you are doing and sit quietly with your eyes closed. Allow yourself to feel the emotion fully. How does it feel in your body? Where did this emotion come from? What is it trying to tell you?
If you feel an emotion intentionally, eventually it will go away and turn into something else. If on the other hand you try to block your emotions, ignore them or push them away they will come back stronger and stronger until you have to listen to them.
Tags: emotions, health, happiness, mental health, worry, anxiety,
Words: Jayne Todd