Got an interesting perspective from The Grasshopper last week. He said, “Emotions will either fuel you or consume you.” I got to wondering.

In our culture, emotions have been tucked away in a corner as the evil stepsister we have to put up with. “Let’s not get emotional” is the often heard mantra when these thought triggered sensations show up. I have to admit that a good portion of my life has been spent suppressing emotions. I was pretty accomplished at it – world class, but it doesn’t work.

Stuffing things down just saves them for another day, kind of like the laundry.

When you consistently hold back on your emotions, they have a way of hardening you. No matter how well intentioned you may be, you present a prickly exterior that people have a hard time getting close to. Relatively few will attempt to get past the thorns to see who is really home.

The emotions, when kept at bay, begin to consume you. They chew at your soul and then they gnaw on your body no matter how spiritual or physically fit you may be.

Please don’t consider this a license to lash out and go on a rant. Think of it more as permission to allow yourself to be human.

Emotions are part of the human package and we may as well put them to work for us. Again, if you mistake this as doling out drama, I haven’t been too clear. Drama is keeping an emotion alive that has already been expressed and expressed, and expressed again. It’s telling yourself a story to revive an emotion that already had it platform. Drama is giving life support to that which has already lived.

This is not to say you cannot express the same emotion, just don’t artificially revive it by telling yourself a story to conjure it up. Emotions will show up in ample supply on their own.

I was talking with Jerry Stocking recently and he was saying that he hadn’t thought of emotions as commodities in the past. He looks at emotions as a fuel that powers us.

He says that true happiness is on the other side of any emotion. You just have to move through it to get there.

Begin to recognize the power of an emotion. Just like with any other power source, be careful how you use it. It’s often been said that electricity can be used to power a city or to electrocute the careless.

Recognize and express your emotions. This has two immediate benefits:

1. You get to find out what’s on the other side of them.
2. You feel better and become a lot more approachable.

All the best,

John

http://JohnMorganHypnosis.com

http://GrasshopperNotes.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan

http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301