Emotions are what drive us on a day-to-day basis. They control our actions, our thoughts, and our overall happiness. Sometimes, however, our emotions can get the best of us. Emotions can overwhelm us, cause us to overreact, or overthink things. In some cases, emotions cause us to make horrible decisions that we regret for a lifetime. There are ways that you can prevent this from happening, however. You have the power to control your emotions if you learn how. The following six steps will help you keep your emotions under control.
Control Your Emotions With These 6 Steps
Step 1 – Pause
Reacting to an emotional response immediately almost always leads to regret. If you are angry, you may lash out, or if you are feeling anxiety, your imagination may get out of control. The first thing you need to do is take a second to analyze the situation. Relax and breathe for a moment or two to process your emotion.
Step 2 – Identify The Emotion
All emotional responses require a different approach to solving. Identify the feeling that you have. This may sound easy, but it can be tough. Are you angry or are you hurt? Are you both, or maybe just jealous? Identifying your feelings will help lead you to the best decision to control your emotions.
Step 3 – Give It Scale
Rate your emotion on a scale from 1 to 10. 10 being, “I can hardly deal with it.” 1 being “No biggie.” When you take the time to give it scale, you do a better job at controlling your emotions. Decide that anything you rate lower than a 6, you are going to let it go. Most of the time your number will be below this number.
Step 4 – Control Your Emotions By Practicing Breathing Techniques
If you’ve taken a second to pause, you have identified the emotion, and it still has a scale of over 6, it’s time to take action; on yourself. You are in complete control of your emotions so you must act internally. At this point, you should practice breathing techniques. The one that is most effective for me is equal breathing. Breathe in for 3 seconds, breathe out for 3 seconds. Breathe in for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds. The breath in and breath out should be exactly the same. Focus on this for a few minutes and you’ll begin to regain control.
Step 5 – Visualize Something Positive To Control Your Emotions
Have a place or memory in your head that is your happy place. It can be any place or memory you like as long as it is complete happiness. It can be a beach, it can be driving on an open road, it can be the day you won an award or the day you had a great accomplishment. Close your eyes and go there. What does it sound like there? What does it smell like? How are you feeling? Use every sense you have to completely immerse yourself.
Step 6 – Talk To Someone
It’s perfectly okay and in some cases recommended that you talk to someone you trust to help you control your emotions. He or she can be a sounding board and give you another perspective on the situation. You may be overreacting or missing something. Be careful not to engage in someone who is notorious for negativity. They will just feed into your negative emotions. Choose someone who you know is neutral and sees things from all angles. If no one comes to mind, you can always talk to a counselor or life coach.
These 6 steps will help control your emotions. You have complete control over how you feel. Avoid feeling overwhelmed and stay in control.
Do you have a great way that you use to control your emotions? Let us know.
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