All emotions are valid. Though, it is our instinct to avoid hard, negative, emotions.
Why? Because we make it mean something about us and our life.
"I have everything I need, I should be happy."
"I shouldn’t feel so guilty."
"I shouldn’t get so angry at my kids."
But the reality is…you DO feel them.
You feel "hard" emotions about 50% of the time, actually. You’re human.
Today, I feel a deep sadness.
I’m sad for our world, our kids, those graduating college….I’m just sad.
And I’m ok with it. I’m not trying to push away sadness right now.
It’s an emotion I WANT to feel.
It’s effecting my life, yes. My energy is low. I don’t feel super motivated to play with my kids. I need more alone time. I’m crying more. I need more sleep…heck, I’M SAD!
But I am not trying to fix it. I am trying to FEEL it.
I want to be someone that can FEEL hard emotions.
You know, those pesky emotions we tend to avoid feeling? Anger, guilt, failure, hunger, worry…yeah…I want to FEEL ALL OF THEM.
Why? Because then I don’t make decisions to avoid them. I don’t let them stand in my way. I control them, rather than allowing them to control me.
How often do you "play it safe" to avoid possible failure?
How often do you not put yourself out there for fear of what others may think?
How often do you avoid conversations with your spouse for fear of getting angry or upset?
What if you never did that anymore, because you were ok with feeling any feeling? (And you were ok if others felt them too.)
Yep. Totally possible.
Imagine the freedom that comes when you allow yourself to make decisions not based on a possible feeling but instead on simply what you want.
It's a game-changer.
Try it today. Allow yourself to feel a feeling, on purpose. See what happens.
