Think of the last time you experienced something negative, or something bad occurred. It’s happened to us all! We are all human beings which means we all experience the roller coaster ride of emotions! Just because we experience them, does NOT mean we are controlled by them!
Researcher Matthew Lieberman of UCLA discovered that simply naming a negative emotion that you’re feeling- like ANGER, SADNESS, DISAPPOINTMENT, SHAME- can calm it by 50 percent because consciously observing your emotions halves your amygdala activation.
It’s crazy that literally just by saying that feeling we can calm ourselves by that much! But, how does it calm us, this can’t be real?... IT IS!
See the reason why it does is feelings and emotion are not tangible to us! They are just a thing that happens in certain circumstances, and we just roll with the punches. The cool thing is when we take a step back to understand the emotion that is happening, then by naming it, we sense a tangible thing instead.
So, what does this mean for us?
Firstly, this “thing” that can quite literally control us, now becomes an opportunity to defeat! Secondly, it gives us a sense of the word, and we can react to it in a different manner. It gives us the opportunity to get a grip on it! To understand it in a way that is not possible when it is just this “thing” floating in the air. Once we can start to gain control of these emotions, we will start to become a human being that has more control and carries a certain aura about us.
Now, peeps, I got a challenge for you! An opportunity for you to grow and master this little thing called negative emotion!
Right now, name a negative emotion you’ve been feeling. Then double up the benefits: rename that emotion with a positive one- such as CALM, ACCEPTANCE, EMPATHY, FORGIVENESS, SURRENDERING. This may seem like a small step, which honestly it is. However, life is not about making LARGE steps, rather BABY steps consistently in the right direction.
Contemplate this positive word over and over, like a mantra.
Be positive. Grasp negative emotion and conquer it. Be boss baby!
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