You can’t outwork doubt, fear and low self-esteem. You can’t create a happy life whilst feeling resentment and bitterness. You will never be loved when you hate. There is no way to be optimally healthy when you are anxious, stressed and worrying. On the other hand, you will fly to joy, happiness, optimal health, blissful relationships, wonderful achievement and total fulfillment in life when you are in a state of gratitude, love, excitement, empowerment and desire. That being the case, why do we spend so much of our time in a negative emotional state?
The sad reality is that we seem to be conditioned to think the worst, and human nature seems to take us down a negative thought path. I posed this statement and asked the question to a group, at an organisation, I was speaking to the other day. After I spoke, the CEO of the organisation came up to me and gave me an answer. She explained that, in the beginning of time and for many thousands of years, the focus of the human species has been survival. Survival from wild animals, survival from attacks by neighbouring tribes, countries or civilisations and survival from the forces of nature. Because of this preoccupation with survival, we have been conditioned to look for the potential problems and dangers. This focus on the negative seems to be hard-wired into our very being. That being the case, we need to work very hard to create a new conditioning.

The reality is that nothing moves without emotion, and it will move us in a direction. The direction it takes us, and the end result of that direction, is dependent on the nature of the emotion experienced, because of the thoughts we create, and, focus on. Can you see why our emotional state is the most important thing we need to control? You may have heard of the phrase, emotional intelligence, well, let me tell you, I have been without it for much of my life, and allowed my thoughts take me down a negative path. The result, in these situations, has always been bad!

If we are constantly driven by negative emotion, I’m here to tell you that it won’t end well, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, emotions drive our actions towards either; joy, happiness, achievement and fulfilment, or, pain, suffering, devastation and regret. I know which I want, and I’m pretty confident I know what you want, so be very careful of the thoughts you choose. Secondly, the thing that I am very focussed on, at the moment, is my mission of creating a wave of wellness around the world. What I have learned is that our emotional state will seriously impact our physical health & wellbeing. Obviously, the actions we take as a result of our emotion will impact habits that affect physical health. But even more significant than that is the immediate chemical, hormonal and physiological impact of emotion, both positive and negative, on the body. Negative emotions are devastating health and lives all around the world.

Bring it into the light…

I think the main reason why negative emotion is devastating so many lives, is because too often we don’t deal with it effectively. As males, we are taught to be tough, not show emotion and just get on the job. Even many females, these days, are ashamed of and hide negative emotions because they want to be seen as strong and in control. So, the common reaction for many people, when experiencing a negative emotion is to either lash out, and do something they later regret, or even worse, stuff it down into the darkness and not deal with it. Stuffing negative emotion is like setting a time bomb and just waiting for it to go off and destroy health, relationships and lives. So, how do we effectively deal with it? Great question!

The answer is simple; capture any and every negative emotion and bring it to the light, before stuffing it into the darkness or doing something you may later regret. Every time you experience any type of negative emotion, such as; anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, hate, guilt, bitterness, insult, or the like, consciously and deliberately capture it and bring it to the light. I like the visual of capturing it in your hands, and, lifting it up to examine it. Let me give you an example; let’s just say your friend says something that causes you to be angry. Have you ever blamed that friend for your anger? The reality is, you chose a thought about what they said or did that led to anger. So, in fact, you are responsible for your own anger.

The key is, as soon as you feel the anger, capture it, bring to the light and ask; Why I am angry? The reason you give for the anger is your own perception of the situation, right? What if you could change that perception? What if, instead of thinking how rude your friend is, you could ask your friend if everything is okay, because the behaviour is not like them? What if you chose empathy instead of anger? Can you see how that would strengthen your relationship, and, be a much healthier response for you? Whenever you feel anxiety, capture it, ask yourself what you are thinking to lead to this feeling, and, then find a way to look at it differently and give you a positive response. Any time you feel any or all of; anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, hate, guilt, bitterness or insult, stop, capture it, identify the thought, change the thought and you will immediately diffuse and remove the dangerous negative emotion.

I am making this sound easy, aren’t I? Is it? No way! It is simple, just not easy, but, with practice and determination it will transform your mindset, your health, your choices, your relationships and pretty much every area of your life. How do I know this? It has transformed my life. I am now much better at looking for the good and creating positive emotions than I have ever been. I still have a long way to go, but I want to encourage you to make the necessary changes in your own life. It will help you deal with people better. It will enhance your work and ability to earn income. It will make you a more influential and allow you to help more people. It will definitely increase your health & wellbeing. It will – and you’ll have to trust me on this one – help you become a happy and purposeful person.

As soon as you feel any negative emotion start to rise up, capture it, and, don’t let it go until you have worked out why you are feeling it, and, where the original thought came from. You are in control of this. It is no-one else’s fault that you are in a negative emotional state, and, blaming them will only keep you there and keep you down. Have the courage to take responsibility for your own thoughts and emotions, and, know that if you chose the thought that led to a dangerous negative emotion, then you can change it to a thought that will empower and enhance your life. For your own sake, don’t stuff it down, or react to it, instead, capture your negative emotions.