From Evernote:

Life and Emotions

Have you ever lost control of your emotions?

Like anger for example and lashed out at a loved one or co-worker...and realizing later on that the issue that led to the outburst wasn't even worth it and regretting that you lost it?  

If the answer is yes, then I'm sure that you have also contemplated the possibility of shutting off all emotion in your life.

Having no emotion is a tempting proposition no doubt but consider this, if we did not have emotions then how can we enjoy the beauty of a sunrise, the thrill of a roller coaster ride, the excitement of a challenge, the love of a spouse, or the satisfaction of accomplishing our goals - be it at work, at home and in life.

Can you imagine if we only had the ability to analyze the sunrise and evaluate it, but not be filled with a sense of wonder of the awesomeness, of the magnificence of the star that we call the sun!  As a trekkie, I love the android character, Lt. Commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation as he pursues the ability to experience emotions.

"Life is not the breathes you take, but the moments that take your breathe away!" says country music legend George Strait and I agree!

Such is the importance of our emotions, as it has the ability to influence the way we see things, especially our relationships, influencing our lives in those moments that take our breathe away.

Lyrics like this is one, is why I love listening to country music they always speak from the heart and they have a way of drawing out the struggles that we have in life.

Granted that there are times that we wish we were devoid of any emotions, we must accept that the presence of emotions helps us distinguish the things in our lives that makes life worth living.  How do we "manage" our emotions then?

I had the privilege of meeting author Dr. Harold Sala recently and here is what he had to say in his book entitled, "Making Your Emotions Work for You".

Learning to Cope with Anger: 

Guideline 1: Avoid stressful situations to the extent that you can.

Guideline 2: Put the circumstances in perspective.

Guideline 3: Learn to contain your anger if it threatens your welfare or that of others.

Guideline 4: Vent your emotions so anger doesn't breed in your heart.

Guideline 5: Eliminate stressful situations.

Making Anger Work for You: 

Guideline 1: Be angry with the right person.

Guideline 2: Be angry for the right cause.

Guideline 3: Be angry for the right duration of time.

Guideline 4: Be angry in the right way. 

Our emotions are an essential part of what makes us human and we need to appreciate it's role in adding color to our life, so rather than avoiding them, we should consider how best to express them.

If we "manage" our emotions well, they can serve to bring us closer in our relationships and bring us greater perspective in life.