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Our emotions are powerful tools and heavy burdens. They can help us process what we experience and convey our feelings to others. However, they can also hinder our progress and destroy lives. How do we recognize the difference and how do we manage them so they don’t cause harm? We don’t want to be controlled by our emotions, but there are times where we lose control of our emotions and they control our responses.

There are times that our emotions are a good thing. Happiness can brighten our day, and lead us in a positive direction. Managing happiness usually isn’t a big problem. However, happiness can also be used against you. When buying a car, if the dealership sees you are happy and desire a specific car, they will use that to control the conversation and possibly move you in a direction that you didn’t want to go. If you go in with a game plan and manage your emotional presence, you will be able to recognize those moments where you are moving away from your gameplan and giving control over to others.

Anger is a strong emotion that is often associated with negativity. Being angry is not a bad thing. However, when you bottle up the emotion, it grows like a cancer and poisons everything you do. You might lash out and hurt others, or your stress levels might rise and you end up hurting yourself. An expectation is created and you end up reacting to those situations with anger more easily each time. Take a moment to recognize what makes you angry and find a healthy way to release that emotion. I use a form of momentary journaling to write down what I am feeling and why. This offers me perspective and helps focus my thoughts on logic. It also gives me an outlet for those emotions. I take those angers and burn them as a form of release.

Perspective is the most important part of managing your emotions. If you have a clear perspective of the causation of your emotional state, you can take steps to prevent those emotions from filling you up or bogging you down. Learn what sets you off, and take a moment to look at it logically. Analyze and deconstruct how you are feeling and how you go there. From there you can make forward progress towards a healthy release and prevent a breakdown from occurring.