I caught myself talking shit about someone the other day.
I won’t get into the details, but will say that I was feeling pissed off.
As I continued, I kept hearing a voice in the back of my head saying…..
“The reason you’re feeling pissed off, Adam, has nothing to do with this particular person, and everything to do with your own, unresolved issues”.
It took me a minute to actually listen to this voice, but when I did…..
….it was easy for me to stop and recognize that this person is simply a trigger.
And by trigger, I mean an external person, place, or thing that elicits an emotional response from within me.
The truth is that I was feeling some heavy emotions at the time…
….anger, sadness, helplessness, fear, anguish, and uncertainty.
With the plethora of external triggers that exist in the world right now, including….
Political unrest
A divided nation..
An economy in recession
Systemic racism issues rising to the surface.
Unrelenting onslaught of media propaganda.
Corruption
And all the other uncomfortable things that extend from the hardships of a lockdown.
…..you may be feeling some of the same emotions that I list above.
If you’re not feeling any of them, I’d love a sip of whatever you’re drinking.
If you are feeling some of these things, I encourage you to acknowledge and name your emotions. i.e.
I AM FEELING ANGRY.
Then….Give the emotion a voice and listen to what it has to say.
For example, if you’re feeling angry, separate yourself from the anger, and ask your anger, “What are you trying to tell me?”
In my instance, my anger shared the following, “I feel really fucking pissed off by the injustices unfolding around me, and want to punch somebody in the face.”
Here’s the good news…I didn’t punch anyone in the face and don’t ever plan on it.
Here’s the better news….by giving my anger a voice, I allowed my anger to move through me.
This enabled me to effectively process my emotions.
It also kept me out of the victim seat – i.e. blaming other people for my own baggage.
And..it reminded me that I’m an empowered being, capable of managing my emotions and creating the things that I desire in my life.
There’s always a silver lining amidst the chaos, and the current state of affairs is no exception.
So, when you feel challenged by your emotions, I encourage you to face them head on, name them, give them a voice, and create the necessary space to tap into the powerful being that you are.
