We all have feelings of joy, happiness, peace, sense of accomplishment, etc., from time to time. It would be great if we could have those positive feelings more often. Well, I’m here to tell you that we can, and we should.
Everyone is different in the way they feel about things and situations that occur in their life. One person may love their job, and another person that does the same job, may dread going to work every day. Mindfulness of how we feel is the key to determine how to react to things and situations in our lives.
This good sensation makes us want to keep doing whatever it is that makes us feel that way. We want to prolong those feelings. They can become a motivator to pursue more of this good sensation. Results of what you’re doing, or the progress of what you’re doing, bring good feelings, and are such motivators.
Negative emotions also contribute to our wellbeing. They teach us lessons to keep us safe from life’s dangers. Feeling the burn from touching a hot stove is such a lesson. Chances are, you won’t touch that hot stove again because you will remember the pain of the burn.
Negative feelings can motivate us to move away from pain. There will always be tasks and situations in life that we don’t like, or want to do, but they are necessary. They can produce bad feelings at the mere thought of doing them. Those bad or negative feelings, can cause us to procrastinate. When we procrastinate, the negative feeling will loom over us like a dark cloud causing prolonged pain. It’s better to just go ahead and get that task done to alleviate the pain, or bad feeling. It’s like ripping off a bandage, you’ll feel so much better when it comes off. The result turns a negative feeling into a positive feeling.
Everyone has their own way of dealing with, or reacting to both good & bad feelings. To make life a little easier, it may be helpful to be mindful of your feelings and use them to your advantage. When you think about how you came to a feeling, it may help you understand what to do to prolong that good feeling, or turn a bad feeling into a good one.
