Listen To The Message Your Emotions Give You

It doesn’t matter if you see yourself as a very sensitive and emotional person, or rather a rational and logical person. Emotions are always present because they are the result of the experiences you have had.

Emotions are what shapes you as a person . Use what you feel to improve yourself, without allowing them to completely dominate you.

There are no negative emotions

We have been educated to classify what we feel is right or wrong. The reality is that every emotion plays an important role in your life. 

What if fear prevented you from protecting your loved ones? Where would you be if you weren’t afraid to go wrong?

We confuse destructive or negative attitudes with the emotions themselves.

Attitudes can do a lot of harm to the people around us as well as to ourselves. However,  if you block a feeling, you will get stuck in one place for a long time.

Love and fear: two basic emotions in life

Love and fear rule everything we experience. The rest of the emotions you experience are simple variations.

The emotions that derive from fear are anxiety, anger, control, sadness, depression, confusion, pain, loneliness, guilt, and shame.

Among the emotions that arise from love are fun, happiness, caring, trust, compassion, honesty, and satisfaction.

For example, anger can be represented as contempt when it is light and go as far as exasperation when we reach our limits.

Learn to identify your emotions

To understand the message your emotions want to send you, you first need to know what you are feeling.

How many times have you ever thought that you don’t really know how you feel? You do not know how to explain what is happening to you, nor the reasons for this state.

To be able to recognize them, you have to focus on you, for the time you need.

Direct your attention to the way you are feeling and immerse yourself in yourself. You may even notice certain physical aspects that are related to your emotions.

-Pay attention to your feelings and thoughts

Our mind is prepared to think in certain patterns, unconsciously. It analyzes what is going on in your mind during the day. It will help you be aware of the things you like and the things you don’t like.

If possible, record these thoughts and the emotions they generate in you. In a few months, it will be easier for you to realize how you are feeling.

-Identify your “small and insignificant sorrows”

What are the little things that hurt you but don’t seem important to you?

Many people live their lives without giving much importance to what hurts them. We tend to believe that if we forget about them, they disappear, when in truth they take up all the space.

Some of these “little things” have been with you since you were a child. These are emotions that generate problems in adulthood. You won’t be able to move forward until you recognize them and truly fight them.

-Be concrete when you describe the emotions you are experiencing

We tend to confuse our emotions because we talk about them in very general terms. 

Depression is one example. Perhaps you are right now feeling estrangement from loved ones, spiritual loneliness, boredom, or a lack of meaning in your life.

If someone asks you how you are doing, maybe your answer is that you are depressed. But as you can see, there are a lot of types and causes of depression. Understanding the reasons for these feelings makes it easier to find a solution.

So try to be concrete and specific about the emotions you are feeling. It will help you get to know yourself and connect with yourself.

-Learn to manage your emotions

Don’t be afraid of your emotions . Don’t fight against them, don’t run away, and don’t get stuck.

Welcome them, live them and understand them because we are born with them. Emotions are neither good nor bad, they are simply part of us. 

Over time, you will find that they will wear off and you will allow yourself to experience and enjoy them more easily.

Just close your eyes and feel them as much as you can.

Images by Lauri Blank, Ofra Amit