Feeling Your Feelings--Key To Happiness

There is nothing wrong with feelings. It is the negative feelings—sadness, anger, fear—which give us consternation. It is the understanding of its origin and processing them that is key to being able to transform them. You might assume that brave people are fearless, but when the truth is known, they are willing to feel their fear and do it anyway, or face their fear by processing it, until the origin is understood. Once the origin is discovered your perception and reaction can be shifted.

When new challenges and opportunities show up in your life, you may diagnose yourself as feeling scared when what you feel is excited. You have not been taught how to welcome the thrill of a new opportunity, and then you withdraw, indulging your anxiety instead of awakening your courage. One way to inspire yourself to embrace the opportunities that come your way is to look more deeply into your feelings and see that the butterflies in your stomach or a rapidly beating heart are not necessarily a sign that you are afraid. Those same butterfly feelings can be translated as passion, curiosity, excitement, or love.

Framing things slightly differently can dramatically shift your mental state from one of resistance to one of openness and empowerment. You can practice this new way of seeing and understanding by verbalizing the things you want to create. “I am excited about this opportunity.” “I am looking forward to going on a date.” “I am excited to have the opportunity to do something I have never done before.” "I look forward to doing this task." As you do this, you will feel your energy shift from fear, which paralyzes you, to excitement, which empowers you to direct all your energy to move forward, growing, and learning.

The more you do this, the more you will feel the excitement in the face of challenges, rather than anxiety. The more you practice your ability to move forward instead of withdrawing, the more you trust yourself to be able to handle each new opportunity, whether it’s a new job, an exciting move, or a relationship. When you feel your fear, you can remind yourself to be excited. You can reassure yourself that this opportunity has come your way, because you need the experience.