We do emotion first, reasoning second. But changing our trajectory may never change if we continue to make decisions based on emotion first, then reasoning.
Rethink your trajectories
In has taken the pandemic for us to see that we should rethink our trajectories. Changing our trajectory for a better role, is important for mental health and in the pandemic that has never been more important.
Emotional reasoning is what happens when you believe that what you feel is an accurate representation of what is actually happening. But relying on our emotions isn't going to end well, because emotions are outcomes of what we think, rather than our emotions determining how we think.
Emotions serve as a reaction
Emotions may often have nothing to do with what is happening, but instead serve as a reaction to how we feel about what has happened. Homing-in on how we feel, as opposed to how what happened to make us feel how we feel, may always give us a different answer on what is our reality on those emotions.
Become aware of your thoughts
It is important to become aware of your thoughts, to take notice of what you think about your thoughts, rather than allow your emotions to lead. Once you begin to recognise that your feelings have very little to do with a particular situation, or what’s happening around you, but more to do with what you think about those things.
It is time to evaluate
It is important to give yourself time to evaluate your experiences. Whilst emotions can fade with time, they can if not dealt with come back to ‘haunt you' when you struggle to comprehend or understand why a situation or circumstance happened, particularly in childhood.
The issue with emotion isn’t the emotion, but the reasoning behind the emotion. Once and if you decide your emotion is fact, you will stop looking for an alternative explanation, or reasoning behind your emotion.
It's easy to become fixated on an emotion, rather than the factual representation of what happened and that can be limiting.
Fear has been the emotion that has ruled my life, for most of it, but I didn't often think about the reasoning for it as I didn't think things through.
My parents let fear rule their own lives, which set a very bad example for us. They never thought anything through which is why we ended up suffering through an extremely dysfunctional and traumatic childhood.
People don't believe how horrific it was, but I have siblings who were there with me, so they can attest to what it was like. It has only been in the past few years that I have been working to overcome my fears and it has resulted in a sense of freedom that I never knew before.
I hope I can build on this success, to accomplish many of the things that I have always wanted to do, but was afraid to even attempt to do.
Thanks Randy. Ditto on some of your thoughts, particularly where you say you didn't think about the reasoning behind what you felt.
I'm not sure you do. I couldn't understand my feelings in the early years, and agree with you that when you work to overcome your fears, it can result in a sense of freedom.
It's what I think, but in the pandemic it could be that we're now dealing with a different type of fear, a virus, one that is set to follow us in the months and years to come.
When I found the CP Dairy, I breathed for the first time in years. My emotions lacked reasoning, no doubt about that.
I learned that there's a more accurate assessment of my world. I learned to trash my negative thinking. I also learned not let the past obscure my present.
I learned emotional reasoning.
Awe thanks Tim and for the shout-out. I hope your words will also resonate with my readers.
Your reasons for turning to The CP Diary, are EXACTLY the same reasons I started the diary, because at the time I wasn't in a good head space.
Your insight is wonderful. I hope everything you have learned and taken from the diary, my readers will also take. I hope for any in doubt, they will find their way to my diary, to my 'books.'
I also hope for anyone sitting on the fence, or for whatever reason they are in denial on their experiences, their life, they will choose to seek out the truth on what are their experiences, that they find their way back, and so they may 'see the light.'
For anyone interested in picking up a copy of 'my books' why not head over to my 'Book Category' you'll find all the links you need to buy a copy on there. ALL PROCEEDS ARE GOING TO MENTAL HEALTH CHARITIES.
I am not taking a bean... paying it forward so that charities may benefit from the proceeds, your help and support will be appreciated.