This is just a short post that I wanted to share regarding our emotions, and how we handle them.
My main reason for doing a post like this is because I feel like I have come a long way in my life as far as my emotional control and stability is considered, and I would love nothing more than to help others make the same transformation that I have.
I want to start by saying is that life is extremely unpredictable. Everyone faces challenges that are unexpected, and even unimaginable to others who are not in the situation. I want you all to know is that these situations do not define who you are. What does define your character and you as a person is how you deal with the situations.
Don't get me wrong. We are all human, and we all experience a vast range of emotions: rage, depression, happiness, sorrow, regret, etc... There is NOTHING wrong with going through these emotions. I moreso want to focus a bit on how we deal with these emotions and/or how we let them manifest themselves in different ways.
Today, I am going to focus on one emotion that I know all too well: anger. I used to be a very angry girl, with a hot temper and a knack for letting it flare up and demonstrating it in a physical manner. It took me a very long time until I was able look back and realize the path of destruction that I had made, and even at that point I was basically at the brink of almost seriously hurting some other people and landing in some potential serious legal issues.
For those of you all out there who can relate to my prior situation, I want you to know that YOU CAN CHANGE. It isn't the easiest thing in the world, and it definitely doesn't happen overnight. However, if you can take the first step in identifying that you have a problem, and come to an inner conclusion that you want to change, that is a HUGE jump.
This journey, just like any other, is different for everyone. For me, it was more of an unconscious transformation that happened as a result of other changes that I made in my life. The biggest thing is being able to identify what those things are that push you over the edge, how they push you, and why. Once you are able to determine those things, it is basically a matter of putting the thought and effort into changing them. Sometimes, you may be able to isolate and eliminate those factors from your life altogether, which is always the best. However, we often times are not able to control when those factors will come. But just because you don't control the input, doesn't mean you cannot control the output. Make a conscious effort to remain calm when those thing present themselves in front of you. This can be done in many different ways, and different things work for different people. One thing I always tell myself when such a factor presents itself to me is "Don't let anyone take away my happiness." In other words, let YOU and ONLY YOU be in the driver's seat when it comes to your emotions. Don't let anything anyone else says to you have a negative effect on you, because at the end of the day, you will be the one hurting because of it, not them.
The last and most important thing I want to touch on is holding grudges. DON'T DO IT. All it does is eats away at your life and your happiness. As much as you may think that you are hurting that person by holding that grudge, I guarantee you that you will end up worse than that person in the long run. I'm not asking you to mindlessly forgive people for all the cruel acts that they do to you. What I am asking you to do is to not hold on to these horrible grudges and feelings of anger or rage or revenge. Again, different people will do this differently. One way I do this is to turn my anger into pity, and just pray that one day that person will face a circumstance that will make them see all their wrongdoings and change their ways. Or I use my anger as a fuel to educate other to not do things that will hurt others, like I am in this post, and this entire blog.
Another big reason I wanted to talk about this is because I know that a lot of my posts seem to be preaching different things, like I am some all-knowing force of nature. Trust me, I am no saint. I have simply come a long way on my journey to extraordinary (and still have a LONG way to go), and want to share with the world the things that I have learned/still am learning, and hope to educate and help others in the process.
Remember, YOU ARE IN CONTROL. It's your life, and your happiness, and don't let anyone take it away from you.
