Basically everything we do each day is fueled by emotions. You're hungry? You go eat something. You're sleepy? You take a five-hour nap (I am well aware that hunger and sleep do not necessarily classify as emotions). You're sad? You grab a bowl of popcorn and saddle up to watch a good cheesy Disney animation, like The Lion King... Actually, no, don't do that, you'll just end up a puddle of tears (don't lie, it has happened to you). Whatever emotion we battle at some point, there are usually various ways to deal with it. I won't list out the good ones, because, well, I believe we all know how to deal with happiness; don't rub it in everyone's else's face. Here's a list of ways I'd recommend you deal with some of the more troublesome emotions!
1. Fear.
"Don't be afraid to face you're fears." If I had a penny for every time I heard this phrase, buying college textbooks would not be a problem. But it actually is good advice. My secondary school principal once said, "F.E.A.R. means False Experiences Appearing Real." So, technically, it's all in your head. Don't let fear consume you and limit the things you can do, expose yourself to the fear, expect the worst and fight for the best. What's the worst that could happen? (You could fail, but you'd be failing by not trying)
2. Hurt and Anger.
Each time you come across a hurtful statement about something of importance to you, there tends to be a natural instinct to let it affect you. I think hurt and anger go hand in hand, when something hurts you, you become angry- or sad (I'm talking about you The Lion King). But so many good things could come from being hurt; the countless heartbreaking love songs that plague mainstream music today (thank you Adele and Ed Sheeran) and tons of tear-jerking movies and novels. As a writer and a creative, I tend to dwell on hurtful emotions and feelings to create the content that I do. Hurt sparks a light in everyone, it's up to you to turn that spark into a raging fire. Harness that emotion and turn it into something magical.
3. Confusion.
It's usually a sink or swim with this one. Often times this leads to stress, frustration, maybe embarrassment and even shyness (I would know). I don't like admitting when I don't know what's going, it's one of the things that makes me very self-conscious, which makes me really shy. Recently though, I've tried dealing with it in different ways like; exercising my mind (the brain is a muscle and needs constant stimulation), practicing self-affirmations and instilling confidence in myself (maybe speak uplifting words to yourself in the mirror everyday... it works) and working through my thoughts. If I'm in the hallway at school and I don't know where to go, I ask some for directions, meet someone new and make a possible new friend.
4. Boredom.
(Is boredom an emotion? I'm not too sure.)
It's really weird how there's so much to do nowadays, with all the technology and what not. Maybe that's why there's never anything to do. Too many options to choose from! At some point, you just get tired of trying to make up your mind and you just resort to being bored.
But that's how inventors came to be. You realize something is missing, you make it. Peter Carl Goldmark was probably tired of seeing movies in monochrome when he invented colour tv, Thomas Edison probably tired of using candle sticks when he invented lightbulbs. You can be the person who creates a type of chocolate that doesn't have any calories, we need that in the world.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is, you have an emotion that's trying to drag you down? Step on it and use it to build yourself up.
