SELF-EXPLORATION--THE FIRST STEP IN "RISING ABOVE" NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
SELF-EXPLORATION--THE FIRST STEP IN "RISING ABOVE" NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
from You Can Choose To Be Happy, Tom G. Stevens PhD
When you feel a negative emotion and want to get control over it, the first step is to explore the emotion. Follow the emotion to the underlying issues--do not avoid it like many people do.
Taking time to self-explore creates more quality time and increases productivity. You may be thinking that you don't have time to take the extra time it takes to settle conflicts between your inner parts. However, the cost of conflicted motivation is not only feeling unhappy, but also significantly reducing performance. The same underlying issues will keep interfering with your life day after day, unless you put them to rest.
"Following our most intense emotions" can help us identify important, underlying life problems. Use the self-exploration method for following your most intense emotions to identify underlying issues, conflicts, and problems. You may have learned habits to avoid emotions and to avoid dealing with painful underlying problems. Self-explore now if you are working though a problem using this chapter as an emotional "repair" manual.
(1) Follow the strongest emotions (the hotter you get, the closer to the fire causing it). (2) Accept these emotions and thoughts as natural. (3) Accept yourself as "ok" for having the feelings and thoughts. (See self-esteem chapter). (4) Explore the associated images, thoughts, and underlying conflicts and beliefs, and pay more attention to thoughts that generate the most intense emotions (5) Find new ways of resolving these problems. Use your Higher Self beliefs as your "Supreme Court" for resolving conflicts (Chapter 3).
Comments