Life, at times, can certainly feel like an emotional rollercoaster, and there are some people who even relish the ride. The first step to learning how to manage your emotions positively is to be really honest with yourself about how you are feeling. Too often people stuff their true emotions deep inside through fear of exposing themselves or being seen to be vulnerable or negative.
We will all experience a wide palette of emotions through our lives and experiences and not all of them will be positive. The human condition is prone to both pleasure and pain and inevitably when we feel upset we may well feel angry or sad. Learning to harness and manage your emotions and using them to the best of your ability will help you be more in control and you will then be able to turn them into fulfilling experiences with positive outcomes.
I love this story and think it sums up very well how we deal with emotion.
The Story of Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee Indian explained to his grandson about a battle between two wolves that live inside all of us.
One of the wolves is called ‘Evil’ and is full of anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority,
and ego.
The other wolf is called ‘Good’ and is full of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
The grandson listened intently and then, after a while, having pondered the story, he asked his grandfather: ‘So which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee simply replied,
‘The one you decide to feed.’
This story does sum up rather well the control that we can have over our emotions and how we can fuel the way we feel by our thoughts and our focus.
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