Emotional freedom means breaking free from the paralyzing effect that negative emotions can have on our lives. Breaking free empowers us to make positive choices in spite of our emotions. While we may not be able to rid ourselves totally of these negative emotions, we can certainly learn to control them. Learning to understand our emotions can also allow us to feel better despite our feelings and circumstances.
If we can learn to manage emotions such as fear, anger, guilt, shame, and anxiety, we will be well on the way to enjoying emotional freedom. The biggest challenge that I have faced in my quest for emotional freedom is coming to terms with having depression. To enjoy freedom in my life, even with depression, I had to learn how to manage my depression. The first step to becoming free is to identify each emotion.
If we can learn to manage emotions such as fear, anger, guilt, shame, and anxiety, we will be well on the way to enjoying emotional freedom. The biggest challenge that I have faced in my quest for emotional freedom is coming to terms with having depression. To enjoy freedom in my life, even with depression, I had to learn how to manage my depression. The first step to becoming free is to identify each emotion.
There are often times that we feel very unhappy, but really don’t know why. It takes some time and thought to discover the cause of our unhappiness. Feeling frustrated, misunderstood, or unappreciated are a few possible causes of a feeling of general discontent. Sometimes too, our emotions can be deeper and harder to understand. This can create what is known as emotional beggage -lingering fears, phobias, and issues we have from unresolved past experiences.
Once you have been able to get specific about your feelings, the next step is figuring out what has triggered them. Perhaps you feel frustrated as a result of knowing what you want to achieve, but not knowing how to go about getting there. Just understanding that you are frustrated, and why, can ease the frustration somewhat. By acknowledging your feelings, you have a much better chance of accepting the fact that your frustration might continue for a while. Since you don’t have a clear idea yet of how to achieve your goal, it’s best to accept that your progress might be very slow at this stage.
Frustration is always a result of a conflict between what you want and your current reality.
It’s amazing how acceptance of your circumstances and realizing that they may take time to change can actually reduce the frustration. Understanding and acceptance empowers us. This is the essence of emotional freedom- lessening the power of our emotions over us by recognizing and accepting them.
At this point you might decide to shift your focus onto areas of your life that are going the way you want them to. Putting the cause of your frustration aside for a while can sometimes free your subconscious mind to come up with fresh ideas.
Becoming aware of your frustration can also help you to get creative about ways to eliminate it. Perhaps you can brainstorm some different ideas to get you started towards your goal. Otherwise you might find an easier short-term alternative that can provide the fulfillment that you are seeking. This is the part of gaining emotional freedom that encompasses self development.
For example, if the goal you want to achieve is finding a satisfying career, you can start gaining satisfaction right where you are. If the career you dream of involves writing, try thinking of a way to include more writing in your current job. If your current job really doesn’t provide any opportunities for creative expression, do it as a hobby. Doing what you love empowers you and paves the way for future possibilities. It’s amazing how many successful people have started their careers by following their passions just for fun.
Whichever way you end up proceeding with your dreams, the important thing is to proceed with an open heart and mind. Understanding and validating your emotions - the good, the bad, and the ugly- is the key to emotional freedom.
Makkah Time
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