Do you know that your daily emotional experience shapes the decisions you make and the actions you take?
It has been said that it’s not what happens to us, but rather how we respond to what happens that determines the results you will experience in your life. And how you respond is directly influenced by how you choose to interpret the events and circumstances of your life. This likewise stems from your ability to effectively manage your emotions in ways that will allow them to serve and assist you with obtaining your desired outcomes.
Each and every one of the so called negative or limiting emotions that we experience on a daily basis can actually serve us and provide us with the necessary guidance we need to make more effective decisions throughout the day. As such, it’s absolutely paramount that we take the time to learn to understand how to interpret our emotions in ways that will help us find answers and solutions, not problems and difficulties.
Within this summary I would like to provide you with all the necessary knowledge you need to help you manage and interpret your emotions far more effectively throughout the day. We will first take a look at different types of so called “limiting” emotions that we experience on a daily basis and attempt to see them from a new, unique and helpful perspective. We will also break down a process you can work-through to help you transform your emotional state — providing you with the leverage you need to effectively manage your emotional state on a daily basis in ways that helps serve your purposes and objectives.
Breaking Down the 8 Emotional Types
Before jumping into an explanation of each one of these emotions, it’s important to understand that these emotional responses are a signal to your conscious brain that something is not working, and therefore something needs to change. They are in essence a call-to-action directing you to do something specific to alleviate your discomfort or pain.Finally, all the emotions we are going to be discussing below are a result of stuck-states that we bring upon ourselves throughout the day. These stuck-states are patterned responses to events, people and circumstances that have their own physiological responses, words, phrases, etc. They are in essence comfort seeking mechanisms that we use whenever things don’t go our way, or as we had expected.
Let’s now break down each of these eight emotional states.
Discomfort
Discomfort is an uncomfortable emotion that often leads to boredom, distress,impatience or embarrasement.
You are experiencing discomfort because you are interpreting a situation or a set of circumstances in a specific way that naturally leads you to the feeling of discomfort. It’s actually within this interpretation that discomfort grows. This therefore means that the moment you transform or change your interpretation of the situation, is the moment you gain control over your emotional experience.
If you ever experience the emotion of discomfort it’s important to first determine what it is that you are doing, and secondly how exactly you are interpreting your experience of reality. If what you are doing is not getting you the results that you are after, then simply try taking a different approach. If however you are not able to tackle the situation from a different perspective, then try to change your perspective of the situation. Either way, you should be able to find an answer that will help you to pull yourself out of this uncomfortable emotional state.
If for example you are bored, then attempt to do something different with your time. Or you can simply try and interpret your experience in a unique way by turning things into a game. Either strategy will work well as long as you are willing to be flexible in your approach.
Fear
Fear is often a very debilitating emotion that leads to worry,anxiety and indecision.
You are experiencing fear because you are interpreting a situation or a set of circumstances in a specific way that naturally leads you to the feeling of fear. This feeling of fear often results from an emotional response of what might occur in the future if you make a specific decision or take a specific action. This is all well-and-good if it’s something that is based on hard facts and evidence that is designed to protect you from harm. However, many times our fears are riddled with inaccuracies that confuse and mislead us. Therefore the first step you must always take to begin the process of removing fear from your life is to evaluate the “real” from the “imagined”.
Fear is of course a very valuable emotion because it protects us from harm in the off-chance that we are running away from a saber-toothed tiger. However, most of the time, in this modern day-and-age, it actually harms us because it keeps us away from achieving our goals and objectives.
There are two quick things you must do that will help you manage your fears more effectively. The first is to clarify what it is you really want. And the second is to prepare thoroughly for the actions you will take to achieve your desired outcomes. These two steps are critical, because the vast majority of our fears are based on a lack of knowledge and a lack of preparation. If you successfully tick both of these boxes, then you will have the ammunition you need to overcome just about any fear that you can possibly experience in our modern age.
Hurt:
The emotion of hurt tends to leave us feeling powerless and often leads to a sense of loss and jealously.You are experiencing hurt because you are interpreting a situation or a set of circumstances in a specific way that naturally leads you to feeling hurt. Likewise, feeling hurt could be a result of not communicating your needs effectively to others. As such you must begin today by communicating what you need from your relationships in a clear and non-threatening manner.
If communicating your needs to others doesn’t work, then take into consideration your expectations. Maybe your expectations are not reasonable, maybe they have changed over time, or maybe they simply no longer apply to your current relationship and therefore may need to be reevaluated.
Finally, feelings of hurt sometimes result from a lack of understanding about our relationships or about our circumstances. In such instances it helps if you replace your hurt with fascination and curiosity. By becoming curious, you immediately begin asking better questions, which expands the way you think and leads to answers and possibilities that you may not have considered before.
Anger
Anger has a tendency to spin us out-of-control and can often lead to resentfulness.
You are experiencing anger because you are interpreting a situation or a set of circumstances in a specific way that naturally leads you to the experience of anger. However, anger can actually serve us if we are able to understand its underlying meaning.
Before you are quick to embrace the emotion of anger, it’s important to understand that anger often arises because one or more of our rules has been violated by others. As such, we become angry because we no longer feel in control of the situation, people or circumstances. In such instances we can actually let go of anger quite quickly, by spending some time reevaluating our rules. Maybe they’re not reasonable, maybe they are out-of-date, or just maybe they shouldn’t be applied in these circumstances.
Alternatively, anger can come about because of an incorrect interpretation of circumstances or people’s intentions. In such instances you must question whether or not you have possibly misinterpreted the situation, or simply misinterpreted people’s intentions. In that case, be open to the possibilities and passionately look for alternative meanings. Only an open and flexible approach will provide you with the answers you are after.
Guilt
Guilt has a tendency to leave us feeling somewhat deflated and can often lead to the emotion of regret.
You are experiencing guilt because you are interpreting a situation or a set of circumstances in a specific way that naturally leads you to the feeling guilt. And the longer you hold onto that guilt the worse it tends to get as it continues to fester and grow inside your head.
When experiencing guilt it’s important to remember that our experience of guilt is simply our interpretation of what we did or failed to do and the impact that this has had on others. The moment you choose to interpret the events and circumstances of your life in a new and unique way, is the moment that guilt suddenly changes and turns into something that can potentially motivate and empower you to take positive action.
Realize that the impact that your actions have had on others may not be as they seem. Therefore in such instances you may need to take a look at your rules for feeling guilty. Maybe these rules need to be reassessed.Finally, guilt is often resolved when you are able to make peace with yourself and peace with the people you may or may not have hurt.
Frustration
Frustration is one of those emotions that we just love to hate because it makes us feel as though we’re so close, yet so far away from the outcome we want.
You are experiencing frustration because you are interpreting a situation or a set of circumstances in a specific way that naturally leads you to feeling frustrated. Yet it is within this feeling that your answers lie.
You are frustrated because you are trying to do something, however you don’t seem to be getting the results you are after. It’s like you’re being held-back from your goal by some outside force that you can’t seem to control.
Instead of trying to control the situation, the key is to begin thinking outside the box; to begin thinking of new possibilities, ideas and possible solutions that might very well help you solve the problem you are dealing with. And sometimes all it takes is for you to look for new information that will provide you with the insight you need to see the circumstances from a slightly different perspective.
Finally, frustration often results from not getting the results you are after. In such instances all it takes to resolve your frustrations is to simply change your approach; try something new and different that you hadn’t considered before. Curiosity, determination and a flexible approach are the keys you should be looking for.
Inadequacy
Inadequacy can make you feel miserable,unworthy and incompetent. It’s an emotion that leaves you feeling like you’re at the bottom of the heap with no way out.
You are experiencing inadequacy because you simply don’t have the experience, skills or knowledge to live up to your high expectations. So you can either change your expectations about yourself and your ability, or you can go out there and gain the necessary knowledge, skills and experience necessary to achieve the outcomes you desire to have in your life.
You could also be experiencing inadequacy because you are simply undermining your own strengths and abilities. In such circumstances it’s always important to get a second opinion. Therefore, go out there and ask someone for feedback. Ask them to give you their honest observations. Maybe they will provide you with some very surprising insights and perspectives.
Finally, inadequacy can often stem from a lack of confidence. If you you are riddled with low self-esteem, then it seems perfectly okay to feel inadequate. However, if you take the time to build your confidence, then you will likewise develop more self-belief and will begin to feel better about yourself and your prospects.
Overwhelm
Overwhelm is one of those emotions that creeps up on you over time, and before you know it, it takes over your life and can at times lead to the very debilitating emotions of grief and depression.
You are experiencing overwhelm because you either have too much on your plate or you are simply unable to manage or take control over aspects of your life. In such circumstances you feel out-of-control and unable to respond accordingly.
The solution to overwhelm lies in taking back control over small chunks of your life, one piece at a time. It means taking a part of your life and dividing it up into smaller manageable chunks that you can successfully work with. It also means letting go of any unnecessary obligations and commitments that are weighing you down, or simply rescheduling them in a way that will free up your time while providing you more space to do what’s most important.
Overcoming overwhelm is simple if you know what to do and are committed to taking the actions necessary to reschedule and re-prioritize your life accordingly. Sometimes all it takes is a little lesson in productivity.
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