Many times, you may find yourself getting upset at something and end up ruining whatever is remaining of the day. What if that happens in the morning? A bad breakfast, a small misunderstanding at home or with your spouse, a flat tire or a crazy passenger in the bus to work. It can be anything that can trigger your mind to form negative emotions like anger, fear, envy, sadness and pessimism. We’re humans and emotions aren’t something we can completely rule out from our book. And emotions, even negative ones, play a key role in shaping the person you are and determining your health and well-being. This is a topic frequently thought of, but rarely spoken of. Therefore, we bring to you ways on how to make the most out of your negative emotions.
Although we find things popping up in our minds out of the blue, emotions and thoughts aren’t random. They’re a way of our body and mind signalling to us that something has been left untended for too long. Something that seriously needs attention. There can be many ways to deal with it. One of them includes channelling them to make the most out of them. Your negative emotions can turn into your greatest advantages. Then again the time factor comes to play. People think they don’t have the time to use all the “mantras” available onboard the internet. However, there are ways you can do it while taking out no significant time from your schedule. There’s a detailed article on Huffington Post should you want to read it. We have a concise version, anyway.
Fuel your Creativity with Anger
Yes, you read it correctly. When you’re angry may be the best time to open up that project you’ve kept pending for a long time. Negative emotions such as anger help you concentrate more and bring up more creative ideas through brainstorming. Suppressing that negative emotion is no good, rather unleash it all out on a problem and you might find yourself with a great solution in the end. Your negative emotion is like fuel to your creativity. They might help you think in ways your calm self couldn’t have.
What doesn’t kill you, makes you Stronger
Well, we all know this saying. And it may be true! Many times, experiences that are life threatening may make you change your perspective on life completely. You learn to value things in a different way. Any setback can turn into a life-lesson. Problems are there to make you climb up, grow and help you become a better version of yourself.
Shame can make you compassionate
Shame is a deadly emotion. Shame makes us feel inadequate in ways we shouldn’t and we end up cutting everyone out of our lives in fear of they knowing about our weaknesses and inadequacies. How can it help, then? Shame can be overcome and when that is done, you develop compassion. Shame is far lesser than empathy. Anyone who has overcome shame is among the most compassionate people and try their best to relieve that alone feeling from others.
Productive with Pessimism
We always say we should see the glass as half full. However, being overly optimistic makes you want less development. Optimists already think everything is perfect. It isn’t despite the pessimism that your productivity will increase, it’s because of it. Because having that certain degree of fear that things aren’t perfect leaves space for improvement. Knowing your weaknesses lets you know what to work for conquering them. Now pessimism doesn’t seem all too bad, does it?
Envy will make you Better
Envy makes us feel that we are lacking in some way or the other. Knowing it specifically can help us to better ourselves. We may envy a friend’s bike, a neighbor’s house, brother’s job and so on. But we should know that the things we want may look different for others than they do for us. And that is the key to becoming a better version of yourself.
Loss can lead to Gratitude
Sometimes, we may need to lose something important to feel grateful for what we still have. But in the long term, an overwhelming loss can become a powerful catalyst for deep, life-affirming gratitude. When you know what it is like to have lost something you loved, you will know to value the things you have.
Cultivate Mindfulness with Negative Emotions
Tibetan Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche explains, “We often wonder what to do about negativity or certain troubling emotions. In the spaciousness of meditation, you can view your thoughts and emotions with a totally unbiased attitude. When your attitude changes, then the whole atmosphere of your mind changes, even the very nature of your thoughts and emotions. When you become more agreeable, then they do; if you have no difficulty with them, they will have no difficulty with you either.”
We’ve outlined the 6 ways you can make the most out of your negative emotions. Negative emotions are inevitable, you can’t control them to stay out of your mind or body. What you can do is channel all that energy into something useful. Make the most out of your negative emotions every day. Turn your world around and make yourself a happier, more energetic and a more productive version of yourself.
Hope you find this article useful. If you have anything to add/share, please write it in the comments.