Friday, January 26, 2007

True, True

This is from DailyOM.com:

Owning Your Emotions
Name It And Claim It

Our feelings can sometimes present a very challenging aspect of our lives. We experience intense emotions without understanding precisely why and consequently find it difficult to identify the solutions that will soothe our distressed minds and hearts. Yet it is only when we are capable of naming our feelings that we can tame them by finding an appropriate resolution. We retake control of our personal power by becoming courageous enough to articulate, out loud and concisely, the essence of our emotions. Our assuming ownership of the challenges before us in this way empowers us to shift from one emotional state to another-we can let go of pain and upset because we have defined it, examined the effect it had on our lives, and then exerted our authority over it by making it our own. By naming our feelings, we claim the right to divest ourselves of them at will.

As you prepare to acknowledge your feelings aloud, gently remind yourself that being specific is an important part of exercising control. Whatever the nature of your feelings, carefully define the reaction taking place within you. If you are afraid of a situation or intimidated by an individual, try not to mince words while giving voice to your anxiety. The precision with which you express yourself is indicative of your overall willingness to stare your feelings in the face without flinching. Naming and claiming cannot always work in the vacuum of the soul. There may be times in which you will find the release you desire only by admitting your feelings before others. When this is the case, your ability to outline your feelings explicitly can help you ask for the support, aid, or guidance you need without becoming mired in the feelings that led you to make such an admission in the first place.

When you have moved past the apprehension associated with expressing your distressing feelings out loud, you may be surprised to discover that you feel liberated and lightened. This is because the act of making a clear connection between your circumstances and your feelings unravels the mystery that previously kept you from being in complete control of your emotional state. To give voice to your feelings, you must necessarily let them go. In the process, you naturally relax and rediscover your emotional equilibrium.



I've always known that I was no good at keeping my emotions bottled up.

Those women you hear about who suspect thier husband of cheating b/c they find a miniscule clue, so they patiently wait and gather more evidence over time until they have an airtight case or come upon the smoking gun.

I am incapable of this.

The first miniscule clue I find he will know all about it 2.5 seconds after I find out about it.

I always thought this rush to confront and or tell ppl how I feel was a result of my impatience. I don't like to wait-on anything. I'm all about right now.

But recently I experienced a situation where for various and lengthy reasons I wasn't able to articulate to the person how I felt, how angry, hurt and saddened I was by their actions. It took such an unexpected toll on me. I was angry about the situation so I ended up angry about everything else, since I couldn't talk to the person I wanted/needed to talk to I didn't want to talk to anyone. My spirit was so heavy, I felt toxic, like I was making myself ill carrying around all these emotions. I didn't talk about the situation to anyone else because i've always felt like if you aren't going to tell the person that made you mad about your anger then what is the point of discussing your anger at all, what point is served if your telling ppl who have no ability to help the situation.

So I held it in.

When I was finally able to talk to the person and tell them how I felt and why I felt that way, it was such a sweet release, I could finally let go of the anger and the hurt. My mere statement of feelings by no means provided any resolution to our situation, and I was never under the belief that it would, but once I said my peace i was in a place where I could actually hear what they needed to say to me.

Funny thing is if they had taken the dailyOM's advice in the first place this entire situation wouldn't have existed.

As usual I'm right...lol

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That was deep...

I must say that you most certainly have a way of articulating yourself through words. I don't know what Eric was thinkin bout back in the day to have ever thought he could challenge you. :)

Mr. Green