INTRODUCING YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS
Frustration. Futility. Despair. Helplessness.
We all experience these feelings. They make us uncomfortable, uneasy, unmotivated. The longer we feel them -- the more times we face them -- the stronger they seem to get and the more uncomfortable, uneasy and unmotivated we get.
It’s a vicious cycle that feeds itself from the energy these emotions suck out of us.
This doesn’t have to be the effect they have on us. These emotions don’t have to be negative.
Frustration. Futility. Despair. Helplessness.
What do they tend to do with us when we encounter them? They stop us in our tracks. They impede our forward progress. They become roadblocks. If we continue to concentrate on them, we can get “trapped” by them. What do we do once we’re in their clutches? We yell viciously at someone in frustration. We pound our desk in futility. We cry into our pillow with despair. We slump into a chair in helplessness.
Their trap is set. The cycle is set in motion. We get mired in their emotional sludge.
Except, now we know better.
We can look at these negative emotions differently. We can look at them as road signs along our journey that tell us of upcoming conditions, considerations... and dangers. They can tell us how we’re doing, what we need to look out for and where we need to go.
Now, when we feel them lurking, reaching out for us, we can take a step back, acknowledge that we’ve turned into a dead end street and ask, “What’s really happening in this scenario? Maybe there’s a good reason why I’m stalled at this road block.”
What happens when we encounter an actual, physical roadblock while driving?
What do we do? We stop. We look around. We evaluate the situation. We look for options, for an alternative path, for a way around the roadblock.
So it is when we encounter and experience emotions like frustration and its cohorts. We need to stop. We need to look for the source of the negative emotion. We need to understand why we are feeling what we’re feeling.
Then we need to look for options --
– ones that won’t lead us to these emotions, ones that lead us in another direction.
When negative emotions hit us, they’re telling us the course of action we’ve chosen, the path we’re currently on, has led us to this emotional state. But this was not our intended destination. We don’t want to be here. So what do we do? Check out other options that are available. Move in another direction. Try something different. Do something differently.
Emotions, though they can be uncomfortable, painful and debilitating, are our friends.
They are not negatives to be avoided.
They are not to be suppressed.
They are not to be ignored.
They are a form of visceral, psycho-physiological communication. They exist and express themselves to tell us important messages. They will point us to the path of health, peace and fulfillment... when we take the time to listen, understand and heed them.
