Setting yourself free from negative emotions

The way we feel is largely determined by outside circumstances. In other words we are victim to external factors. If another driver cuts us off on the road, our mood immediately changes and we become frustrated and start swearing. What was meant to be an enjoyable drive suddenly becomes a miserable one. What was meant to be a good day immediately turns into a horrible day. But life does not have to be that way. We can gain control of how we feel. Our feelings do not have to control us, in fact it is the other way round. We can control how we feel. We can choose either to feel good or to feel bad regardless of what other people do to us. This did not come clear to me, until I read Stephen Covey's book, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Mr. Covey writes that between stimuli and response there is freedom to choose. This means that whatever circumstance or situation we may find ourselves into we have the choice to decide how to respond. It is not given, that if someone does something terrible to us, we should automatically be angry. Yes, we have the choice to decide whether to be offended or to laugh it off. However, as a society we have become conditioned to feel bad when something bad happens, and happy when something good happens. Instead of being proactive, we react. In other words we have given up our freedom to choose how to respond.

A lot of us, sink into depression when something unfavorable happens. We blame circumstance and situations for our emotions. However, waking up to the power of choice would set us free from being controlled by our situations. Instead of being depressed, we can decide to be happy. Such knowledge is stronger than any anti-depressant we may take. To know that we can actually choose how to feel. We can choose not to be depressed. There is a very useful method which helps in getting control of our emotions, called the Sedona Method. For greater detail you can go on YouTube, and do a search on the Sedona Method.

There is power in using our freedom to choose, because you will become hostage to your emotions no more. When someone cuts you off while driving, you smile or laugh it off, when someone slams the door in your face, you carry on jolly happy. This is not to say you become a door-mat, or a walk-over, but it is to give you the power to determine how you feel at each given moment. You pick and choose the emotions you want.

If you are the sort of person who always gets offended when someone cuts you off when driving, and if like most people you drive everyday, can you see how each day of your life you are likely to be frustrated? Getting angry will not undo what the other driver has done, neither will it bring you any comfort.

We must wake up to the power of choice, decide how we want to feel, and feel that way regardless. If you have heard of the Law of Attraction, you will know the importance of controlling our feelings. Because the Law of Attraction states that we attract more of that which we focus on. So if you are constantly feeling bad, then you are attracting more of the bad to your life and vice versa. Not only that, but how we feel shapes our lives. It has immense bearing on our health. It is widely agreed by health experts that prolonged feelings of anger 'can lead to high blood pressure, headaches, stomach problems and a lowered immune system'. We dont have to be victim of our feelings, we have the choice, we only have to drop the habit of reaction and use the choice available to us. Research more on the resources I have mentioned to find out more on how to gain control of your emotions.

Copyright Sharon Eiffel Sharon Eiffel enjoys writing on positive thinking, motivation and self improvement. For free inspirational books please visit http://www.ecanhappen.com

The way we feel is largely determined by outside circumstances. In other words we are victim to external factors. If another driver cuts us off on the road, our mood immediately changes and we become frustrated and start swearing.